Mirror, mirror
by aonalion
Summary: Jonouchi and Kaiba looked into the mirror and saw what other people saw; they saw themselves with someone else's eyes; they saw their flaw. Jonouchi X Kaiba, yaoi/shounen-ai
1. Mirror, mirror

**A/N:** Hey guys, _sick of my stories yet?_ You must think that I have no life. And it's true. I don't.

Mmmyeah, I also decided to rate this fic M, mostly for language.

* * *

The air was filled with laughter and shouts and the smell of cotton candy and popcorn. As soon as the school had ended for that Friday, Yugi, Jonouchi and all the others had set off to the local amusement park to have some fun before the weekend started. It was very crowded and the lines to the attractions were endless, but it was totally worth it.

So far, all of them had gone on a trip with the roller-coaster, but only Jonouchi, Honda and Otogi dared to enter the Haunted House, while Yugi and Anzu stayed outside and rode the Ferris Wheel instead. The view from up there was beautiful; you could see all of Domino City and the sun, not so far away from setting into the ocean. When they got down again, Honda, Jonouchi and Otogi were just leaving the Haunted House, all of them scared out of their lives and their faces pale. Anzu simply laughed at them and Yugi said something about going to get some food, when Jonouchi suddenly saw something that made him completely forget everything else.

A very familiar white coat was just disappearing into another house not far from where Yugi and the gang were standing. Jonouchi stared after his sworn enemy with a frown on his face and chewing his lower lip without realizing it. What the hell was Kaiba doing there, at an amusement park? He really seemed out of place, though, and from the brief glance at his face Jonouchi had managed to take, Kaiba didn't like being there either. Maybe he was there with Mokuba, or maybe –

"Hey, Jou," Honda said and poked Jonouchi's side rather hard, which drew a gasp from the blond and made him jerk away.

"'The hell was that for?" he asked, but then noticed the rest of the gang was watching him.

"I said; where do you want to eat?" Honda repeated slowly, as if he thought Jonouchi didn't understand him. "Weren't you paying attention?"

"I, uh…" Jonouchi stuttered but then bounced back. "Ah, it doesn't really matter! Jus' as long as we get somethin'; I'm starvin'!" he added a little laugh which sounded undeniably fake even to his own ears, and it earned him an odd look from Honda.

"Well… I think there's a hot dog stand over by the Teacups, we can go check how long the line is, otherwise we can go to that taco place you like, Jonouchi!" Honda said and obviously tried to engage Jonouchi into some kind of conversation, but said person's mind had drifted off somewhere else again.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that sounds… sounds great." Jonouchi ignored the glare he got from Honda and the confused look from both Anzu and Yugi, and turned his back on them. "I just gotta… go to the toilet. Meet ya at the hot dog stand!" he started walking, quickly, in the direction of the house Kaiba had gone into. Behind him, he could hear Yugi ask Honda if the blond was okay, but he didn't care at the moment.

He couldn't take it anymore; he _had_ to know why Kaiba was there. Maybe he was there as research work, to check up what the other amusement parks had which Kaibaland didn't have. Or no, he probably had people who did that for him, and probably without even coming to the amusement park itself… Maybe he really was there with Mokuba. If there was one thing Jonouchi never got about Kaiba, it was how he could be so kind and… _caring_ towards his little brother while he never showed a single emotion towards others. It was unsettling, like Kaiba was either a really bad brother in reality but never showed it, or like he was really was a nice person but wouldn't show it to anyone. Secretly, Jonouchi hoped for the latter, for Mokuba's sake if anything.

He stopped outside the house. There was almost no one close by, people hurried past the place like they had somewhere more fun to be. Jonouchi couldn't exactly blame them; the whole place seemed fairly old and badly taken care of. Before entering he looked up at the sign above the doorway. 'Mirror House' it said, and underneath it, with much smaller letters and the paint peeled off here and there – Jonouchi had to squint to be able to see – it stood; '_We learn our virtues from our friends who love us; our faults from the enemy who hates us. We cannot easily discover the real character from a friend. He is a mirror, on which the warmth of our breaths impedes the clearness of the reflection._'

Jonouchi frowned at the quote. What was that supposed to mean? He shook his head and decided to ignore it, finally stepping into the Mirror House to see what Kaiba was up to. The moment he stepped inside the doorway all the sounds from outside were muffled, almost eerily so, and all he could see was a square of light falling in from the door on the floor. Everything else was hidden in darkness. He stepped further inside, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim light.

He had never really been in a Mirror House before, but he wasn't easily frightened. Once his eyes had gotten used to the light the first thing he noticed was the creepy feeling of something always following him, watching him. The place was designed as a labyrinth, and all the walls were covered in mirrors tilted towards different directions. Every time he moved, something would mimic his movements; to his right or left or behind him and even in front of him. It took a moment for Jonouchi to get used, but even after that it was a pretty unsettling feeling, to always have a dozen of reflections following his every move.

Jonouchi continued through the narrow passage – because at first it was nothing but a straightforward corridor – then he suddenly came to a crossroad and had to choose. He frowned; it was getting harder now. Which way had Kaiba taken…? It was a pretty stupid advice, but Jonouchi had once heard that when in doubt, you should always take the left way, so that's what he did. The second time he took a left too but the third time, he had to take a right since even he understood that he would be going to circles eventually.

After a while he realized he was pretty much lost, but didn't panic. It was just a stupid Mirror House; he would find his way out of there eventually. He was more worried about the fact that Yugi and the others were probably waiting for him; he didn't really know how long he had been gone since he had neither a watch nor a cellphone, but he estimated it had to be at least five minutes. They would start worrying about him soon, maybe even search for him?

The moment he rounded a corner, someone else rounded the corner up ahead. Their eyes met and both of them stopped. Jonouchi immediately assumed some sort of defensive position; with his feet wide apart and hands slightly raised. He glared at Kaiba, who simply gave him the usual cold look back.

"Watcha doin' here Kaiba?"

Kaiba's blue eyes narrowed a little.

"I am allowed to be here just like you are, mutt."

"Watcha doin' here, _really_?" Jonouchi pressed. "You'd never go to an amusement park on your own."

"If you must know, I am here with Mokuba."

So he really was. It calmed Jonouchi down somewhat, knowing that Kaiba didn't have some odd reason for being there, or at least not more odd than being nice for a change.

"Where is he then?"

If Jonouchi hadn't known Kaiba better, he would've thought Kaiba sighed. But it was probably just the wind; the house was really old after all. And it was too dark for Jonouchi to see if Kaiba's chest had moved.

"I lost him." Kaiba admitted. Jonouchi could see how much it took for him to say that, and maybe in a way he felt just a _little_ bit sorry for him – knowing how much Mokuba meant to him – but at the same time it was hilarious. He laughed a little.

"Maybe ya should keep 'em on a leash."

"You should be kept on a leash." Kaiba immediately bit back, which made Jonouchi growl. "Filthy dog…" he muttered and turned his head. It seemed like he was listening for something, but Jonouchi couldn't hear anything.

"Ya lost him… in here?" Jonouchi asked, not liking being ignored.

"Yes. Otherwise I would not be here, _mutt_." He used the same insult again, but put more emphasis on it this time. "Now move out of the way so I can find him." Kaiba took a couple of steps closer and stopped barely a few feet in front of Jonouchi, who didn't move at all. Jonouchi had a hard time deciding whether he should back down or stand his ground. He decided on the latter.

"I'm not gonna move over. Why dontcha go back the same way ya came?"

"I have already looked everywhere over there. Now _step aside_." He took yet another step closer and ended up in Jonouchi's personal zone. The blond raised his hands more, ready to defend himself. The movement made Kaiba's eyes narrow. "You stubborn…" he growled and glared at Jonouchi, who glared right back.

"I'm not gonna move over jus' so ya can find yer stupid lil' brother who's too dumb to –"

But he stepped over the line. So fast his hand became a blur, Kaiba reached out and seized Jonouchi's wrist in a painful grip. He twisted it a little; just enough for Jonouchi to wince and try to jerk his hand back, which only resulted in it hurting more. Kaiba's usual neutral face had dropped and his eyebrows were together in a frown, and his teeth gritted.

"Don't you _dare_ insult Mokuba in front of me." He hissed.

Jonouchi was shocked at first but then realized he really had gone too far.

"Ah shit, Kaiba, I didn't –"

Kaiba gripped his wrist harder; so hard Jonouchi actually let out a barely audible whimper. He was surprisingly strong for being so skinny.

"Now move out of the way before I –"

But whatever it was Kaiba was going to do, Jonouchi would never find out, because Kaiba had glanced to his side while he spoke and then looked again. His sentence cut off in the middle and he actually _stared_; something Jonouchi rarely saw Kaiba do. Jonouchi, who didn't like being ignored – plus his wrist was still caught in Kaiba's iron grip – tried waving his free hand in front of the brunet's face.

"Kaib', the hell? Let go!" he struggled a little but it was useless; Kaiba's entire body was frozen over. Then Jonouchi looked at the same direction and froze too, his mouth falling open. Their reflection was clearly visible in a huge mirror on the wall right next to them; they stared at themselves, who stared right back.

If you're an artist, you've probably tried this. If not, hopefully you can understand anyway. Let's say you're drawing something, a human, full body, and you know the anatomy is wrong. It has to be; it's you who's drawing. And yet you can't see what's wrong in the picture – _because it's you who's drawing_. But when you hold the drawing up in front of a mirror and see the flipped image, you suddenly see it with someone else's eyes. And suddenly all the flaws are visible for everyone, including yourself, to see.

Jonouchi and Kaiba looked into the mirror and saw what other people saw; they saw themselves with someone else's eyes; they saw their flaw.

Make no mistake; both Kaiba and Jonouchi had seen themselves in the mirror several times before – the former more often than the latter – but this was the first time they were there together. And it was an odd experience. They were standing right there next to each other, Kaiba's hand still around Jonouchi's wrist – and it looked so _wrong_.

Kaiba slowly lessened his grip but didn't let go entirely; Jonouchi lowered his hands but Kaiba still hung onto him. Both of them straightened up a bit – standing crouched like that looked really bad for their posture. And then Kaiba, the perfectionist, made the first move. He saw Jonouchi's jacket was all wrinkly and it bugged the living hell out of him; so he reached out and straightened it out. Jonouchi let him, but neither of them stopped looking into the mirror. Jonouchi on the other hand, even though it was fairly dark in there, could see a few strands of hair sticking out from Kaiba's otherwise perfect hairstyle. He reached up and gently brushed them aside. There, that looked better.

But even though their physical appearance was fine now, there was still something off about their reflection. Kaiba slid his hand further down until he was practically holding Jonouchi's hand. It took a moment, but then Jonouchi's fingers lightly bend around Kaiba's hand too. The brunet took a step forward, and then the blond did the same – now there was practically no space at all between them.

Jonouchi started moving his head and Kaiba was on the verge of practically yelling at him not to do it; if they stopped looking into the mirror it felt as if the… magic? would stop and – And what? But before Kaiba even got a chance to think more about it Jonouchi tore his eyes away from his own reflection and looked up at Kaiba – the real Kaiba, not just his reflection. The brunet could see him do it in the mirror; he could see the blond look up at him with and unreadable expression, but it took a moment before Kaiba dared to turn his head too – and his cold blue eyes met Jonouchi's honey colored ones.

A strange realization began to sink through the both of them.

* * *

Jonouchi was home alone, much to his own relief. He didn't know where his father was but he didn't care either, or at least not at the moment. He would come back sooner or later, he always did.

The incident earlier that day kept replaying in his head, but it didn't make more sense no matter how many times he went through it. Kaiba had acted so weird. But then again, he had probably acted pretty weird himself too. That mirror… their reflections had looked so _wrong_. There wasn't any other word that could it describe it; the way Kaiba and himself stood there next to one another wasn't right. It was like he could see their relationship like a bunch of threads going between their bodies – and they were all tangled and broken and cut off. It was unsettling.

And then the way Kaiba had behaved… He must've seen something similar; why would he otherwise try to fix it? The physical things had come first, Jonouchi's clothes had been wrinkled, and Kaiba's hair had been messy. Jonouchi still couldn't believe he had actually reached up and tried to fix Kaiba's hair; it embarrassed him to death now when he thought back, but back then it had felt completely natural. And they had been standing too far apart… maybe some of those broken threads could be fixed if they moved closer. Yes, Jonouchi remembered thinking something along those lines, even though it didn't make any sense whatsoever now.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Was his and Kaiba's relationship really that wrong? Well… they were enemies. Or at least, Jonouchi would call Kaiba an enemy. Kaiba would probably just call Jonouchi 'mutt' or 'puppy' or 'dog' or any number of the similar nicknames he had gotten without any real reason.

Maybe that was it!

Jonouchi's head jerked up and he stared in front of himself without really seeing anything.

Did he and Kaiba really have a reason for being enemies?

* * *

**A/N:** First chapter! And I have to tell you, I don't know how long this fic will be. That's right, I don't have an ending. Which is probably pretty bad since I usually do when I start writing xD  
So yeah, ideas, thoughts, comment and questions are very appreciated! Especially about the mirror part, I want to make sure everyone got it!

Thanks to FanficFemale, Katlynn888 and Hachiseiko for betaing! (Damn right, I had three betas.)


	2. Reflections

**A/N:** Sorryyyyy~! I was supposed to upload this way, waaay earlier but eh, beta issues much? xD It's not her fault though! Internet problems... *shakes fist*  
Anywho, I was at a local anime convent this weekend which was so much fun! Haha, I got to play MvsC3, ate lunch at Burger King with Akatsuki, was randomly attacked by the Fairy Tail cosplayers, saw a bunch of awesome cosplays... and people seemed to like mine too, judging by how many times my Kuriboh was kidnapped and hugged to death xD

* * *

The weekend passed, and it was time for school again.

Jonouchi would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about what had happened. He even noticed how he looked into the mirror for a longer time than usual, and as soon as he passed by a window when walking he slowed down and looked at his own reflection. He looked just like he always had, which was what bothered him. That meant it really was something off with him _and_ Kaiba, and he needed Kaiba to figure out what it was. He knew Kaiba would never agree to something like that – not matter what 'that' could be.

But then again… Kaiba had been the one who made the first move, the one who had corrected the first flaw. If there _was_ something going on – and Jonouchi still wouldn't admit that there was – and if Kaiba actually cared, maybe they could find out what it was. Together. He felt an unexpected rush of emotion as that word entered his mind – him and Kaiba? There wasn't such a thing, and there had never been.

He sighed and dropped down on his seat. Most of the other students were standing up around him, chattering happily before class started.

"Oh hi, Jonouchi!" Yugi said cheerfully as he noticed Jonouchi sitting right next to him. "How was your weekend?" That's right; he hadn't seen either of his friends since Friday, when they had been at the amusement park. Once he had actually come out of the Mirror House, he had quickly located Yugi and the others and told them he had to go home. Honda had been the one who had been most suspicious, but he had let him go anyway.

"Eh, it was fine… didn't do much…" Jonouchi mumbled and lazily crossed his arms, sinking down on his seat, waiting for the inevitable.

Kaiba arrived only seconds before the teacher. The moment he stepped into the classroom everyone went quiet, since they thought it was the teacher, but when they saw who it really was they relaxed again. Kaiba glanced over the classroom and his and Jonouchi's eyes met for a brief second before both of them looked away again. The brunet took his usual seat close to Jonouchi, but both of them avoided eye contact.

There wasn't anything to say, not even the usual snide remarks or insults.

The classes seemed so much longer than usual, Jonouchi could barely take it. What made it a hundred times worse was the fact that he could _feel_ how Kaiba constantly watched him. No really, he did, and it was slowly but surely driving the blond insane. The few times he turned his head to stare back at Kaiba the brunet turned his head back so fast Jonouchi couldn't even tell he had been watching in the first place – that is, if it hadn't been for that creepy feeling of being watched. That feeling… was almost like the one in the Mirror House, except that one had been caused by his _own_ reflection.

Jonouchi was abruptly snapped out of his thoughts at the sounds of the school bell. Yes, school finally ended! During the last couple of hours he had been so lost in thoughts he neither paid attention to what the teacher said nor noticed Kaiba watching him. But then again…

"Hey Kaiba, will ya stop starin' at me? It's kinda annoying." Jonouchi said as everyone around them started collecting their belongings and moving towards the door. The blond made sure his voice was just loud enough for Kaiba to hear, but still low enough to disappear in the general chatter.

Kaiba stood up, holding his metal-looking briefcase in one hand. He cocked his head to the side slightly and watched Jonouchi for a moment before answering.

"Does it not bother you?"

"Does what bother me?" Jonouchi asked, but he knew very well what Kaiba meant. Kaiba knew Jonouchi knew, because he didn't answer the question and continued instead:

"Something is wrong, you must realize that. Something has always been wrong; we just haven't noticed it until now." He paused a beat. "About you and me."

Now, there was a sentence you didn't hear too often. 'You and me'. Kaiba and Jonouchi? No way, they weren't 'you and me'; they were enemy and enemy. Or, possibly, enemy and mutt. Jonouchi's eyes narrowed for a split second before he turned his back on Kaiba and started walking away. Everyone else had left the classroom too, so Jonouchi figured it was okay to raise his voice a bit.

"Yer bein' ridiculous. There's nothing wrong 'bout you and me." And then, just before he stepped out into the hallway; "… There is no you and me."

The corridor outside was surprisingly empty too; the students had escaped fast. Jonouchi hurried to his locker and hoped Kaiba wouldn't follow him. Once he reached it, he had to stop an avalanche of old papers, books, candy wrappers, and all sorts of forgotten things from falling out when he opened his locker. He grunted and tried to press it in again, without any regards to his more fragile possessions kept in there.

"Jonouchi!" Yugi's voice said somewhere behind him. Jonouchi didn't turn around; he was still occupied with his things, but he let out a small sound of confirmation. "I almost thought you had already gone home, I'm glad you hadn't. What's going on?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"I saw you and Kaiba looking at each other really weirdly during class. Have you fought again? You have to stop doing that; he's really not that bad." He sounded a bit accusing, but not too angry. It wasn't as if fights between Jonouchi and Kaiba were rare after all, and Yugi had practically given up on stopping them.

"Yeah he is, he's jus' such a fuckin'…" Jonouchi trailed off, shut his locker and turned around to face Yugi. "We haven't fought."

"Really?" Yugi seemed genuinely surprised. "Well, you _were_ oddly distant today. Did something else happen…?"

"Nothing happened, okay Yugi?" Jonouchi snapped, but immediately regretted it once he saw Yugi's face – he looked a bit hurt at the unfair treatment. "Look, I just… I had a head ache, that's all. I think I'm comin' down wit' somethin'."

"Oh, was that why you left so early this Friday too?"

"I – … Yeah, that was probably it." He made an effort to smile towards his small friend.

"Okay well, I hope you get better!" Yugi said and just like that, there was a smile on his face again. "See you tomorrow!" He waved and walked off, leaving Jonouchi behind.

"Yeah sure, I'll… I'll see ya tomorrow."

Jonouchi watched Yugi disappear around the corner, and suddenly felt very lonely.

"You cannot seriously say it doesn't bother you." Kaiba said. Jonouchi jumped. The brunet was standing right next to him; how he could've gotten there so quietly was beyond Jonouchi.

"'Fuck sa–!" Jonouchi hissed and spun around. "Don't fuckin' sneak up on me like that! And yer such a fuckin' perfectionist! There's nothin' wrong, jus' let it go!" Jonouchi snapped and bent down to take his bag before straightening up again, glaring at Kaiba. "Yer imagining things. And stop watchin' me in class, it's creepin' me out!"

"I may have been watching you but I noticed you looked at me too." Kaiba said; his expression unreadable. Jonouchi growled.

"I wasn't lookin' atcha, okay?" God, he sounded like a ten-year-old girl trying to explain to her love interest she hadn't been checking him out when she thought he didn't notice. _I wasn't checking you out, I swear!_ If Jonouchi had been in the mood, he would've laughed at his own stupidity. However, he was most definitely _not_ in the mood. He growled again, twirled around and started walking away from there fast. He could hear Kaiba following him, though, at the exact same pace as himself.

"Pup, listen to me…" Jonouchi snorted and tried walking faster, but Kaiba kept up. "I saw something was wrong when I looked into the mirror, and I think you did too. Otherwise you wouldn't be acting like this right now."

"Shaddap, ya don't know me."

"I know, I think…" they rounded a corner and came out into another empty hallway, but from this one you had a perfect view of the sun setting over Domino City. "I think that's the problem. Jonouchi…"

This actually caused Jonouchi's steps to falter slightly. The brunet had called him by his name. _He had called him by his name_. He had called him by his name, what the hell was wrong with him, he never did that! But that one slow step made Kaiba catch up with Jonouchi, who turned his head only to see the brunet stretch out a hand after him. Kaiba seemed to change his mind at the last moment though, and his hand fell down again. Jonouchi stopped anyway.

"Jonouchi." said person turned around fully to face Kaiba. The brunet was frowning a bit. "We have never really… We have always been enemies. But… do we really have an excuse to behave the way we do? _Why_ are we enemies?"

It was definitely odd hearing Kaiba struggle to get the right words out. And what was even more unsettling was the fact that he had obviously come to the same conclusion as Jonouchi himself; they didn't really have a reason for hating each other. But Jonouchi decided to be stubborn, again.

"I believe it was _you_ who started callin' _me_ 'mutt'." He muttered.

"Well yes, but I don't remember why!"

"… Me either." Jonouchi confessed. The corners of Kaiba's mouth twitched before he could come to his senses, but he still sounded differently when he spoke again; more alive if anything.

"Yes, that's what I meant. If we don't have a reason for hating each other, then… why are we doing it?" he asked, but Jonouchi sensed it was a rhetorical question and kept quiet. "I mean, look at us!" he swept out with his hand and Jonouchi's eyes immediately turned that direction. It was vague; but you could just barely see their reflection in the window.

And there it was again. The threads running between their bodies. Maybe, just maybe, there was a small difference from that Friday. Maybe the threads weren't just so tangled anymore, and there seemed to be at least one or two less cut off ones. For some reason he'd never quite understand, a feeling of relief washed over Jonouchi as he saw his and Kaiba's reflections. The 'magical' (in the lack of a better term) feeling wasn't as strong as the previous time, but it was still there, and it made Jonouchi… warm. And safe.

"You see it too, do you not?" Kaiba questioned, almost carefully.

The blonde gulped and met his own eyes in the reflection. He looked almost… frightened? Jonouchi tore his eyes away from the window and started walking down the corridor again; it was only a brief moment before Kaiba followed.

"If ya stop callin' me mutt I guess I don't have any reason to fight wit' ya all the time."

He could hear Kaiba slow down for a split second, but then the brunet was walking right there next to him. When Jonouchi glanced to his side he saw that Kaiba was smirking – or was it smiling? It was hard to tell, as his eyes practically didn't show any emotion at all.

When they came out from the school building, Kaiba's limousine was standing right there waiting for him, glistening in the light from the setting sun. Jonouchi grimaced at it and Kaiba's obvious wealth and was about to take off when Kaiba asked a very unexpected question.

"Wha…?" Jonouchi managed to get out. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"I said: do you want a ride home?"

"No!" Jonouchi said – at first it was only the usual rivalry bubbling up to the surface again, but then he realized something that sent a jolt through his body. _Home_. "No, no really, I-I can't." he stuttered. "But th-thanks anyway, I guess. I'll, eh, see ya tomorrow?" and then he was out of there before Kaiba could say anything else.

The brunet watched him leave with a frown on his face. That was odd. What was odd wasn't exactly how he had reacted to the question at first – really, Kaiba hadn't expected Jonouchi to say yes, it was merely a polite thing to ask – but his second reaction was what caught Kaiba's attention. It was as if he had remembered something that embarrassed him, or made him uncomfortable. What could that be? Simply riding in Kaiba's limousine? Was that enough to make Jonouchi embarrassed? No, there had to be more than that.

He got into the limousine and told his driver to take him home. For a split second he had actually thought about following the blond – but he immediately realized his car wasn't the stealthiest one, and also that this was not how a Kaiba did things. He picked up his cellphone and reached his secretary through speed-dial instantly.

"Get me all information you can find on Jonouchi Katsuya and his family. Yes, my classmate. Yes, I understand what happens if anyone finds out." He impatiently tapped his finger against his knee. "No, I do not care."


	3. Home

**A/N: **I love coincidences. They make me feel like there's something bigger, connecting everything, you know? While I was writing this chapter – in school – a friend of mine sat next to me, drawing. After a while she turned the paper upside down and looked at it, and I just looked at her for a moment. She noticed, and said: "If you turn the paper upside down, you can more easily see the flaws."

And I was like: "… Yeah. That works in a mirror too."

* * *

Kaiba stared at the papers lying on the desk in front of him without actually seeing them.

He had read them, re-read them, and then read them again just to be sure. The papers only had one thing in common; they were all about Jonouchi Katsuya. At first Kaiba had felt a little bad about snooping in the blond's private life; somehow it felt different when he wasn't doing it to a concurrent that might do the same towards him, and use that information against him. Jonouchi was his classmate after all, but if he was ever going to get somewhere with him he had to know more about him.

Where he wanted to get with Jonouchi was an entirely different thought, and Kaiba preferred not thinking about it; or at least not at the moment.

According to the papers his secretary had managed to dig up—for the record, it had taken her longer than usual and it was now Friday again, one week since the mirror incident—Jonouchi lived with his father. His mother had divorced her husband and taken Jonouchi's little sister, Shizuka, with her when she left. Shizuka's hospital bills were enormous, but it was nothing compared to what she and Jonouchi's father owed several people and companies. He had been drinking, gambling, neglecting to pay his electrical bills and his rent… Kaiba was surprised he even managed to still have an apartment, which was located in the poorest area of the city.

That must've been what Jonouchi had been embarrassed about. Kaiba could understand if Jonouchi thought it was embarrassing, but at the same time he knew the blond shouldn't have to feel that way. It wasn't as if it was his fault that he was poor; clearly, it was his father's fault. What Kaiba couldn't understand was how he couldn't have known until now. How could Jonouchi keep it a secret for so long? And more importantly, did Yugi and the others know? What if Kaiba was the only one who knew? If that was the case, it also meant he was the only one who could do something about it. He could actually help the mutt.

That was certainly an odd thought, but it felt good at the same time. To help someone. To help Jonouchi. But Jonouchi would never accept his help. Or would he?

Kaiba leaned back in his chair and rested his fingertips against each other, studying his perfect nails.

Jonouchi was stubborn, but so was Kaiba. Kaiba had a feeling that in the end it would all come down to who had the most patience. And that was definitely Kaiba, since Jonouchi easily lost his temper.

He wished Mokuba was there to guide him, but unfortunately his little brother had decided to stay the night at a friend's. He could tell Mokuba everything, and he usually did. However, he hadn't told Mokuba about what happened in the mirror house while he was looking for him. Something had stopped him from telling his own little brother; it was an unsettling feeling that the threads – the bond? – between him and Jonouchi was theirs and theirs alone and if he told Mokuba he would destroy it. And he was probably just being pessimistic, but something told him not even Mokuba would accept his whatever-it-was with the third-rate duelist.

Then he shook his head. No, he wouldn't call Jonouchi third-rate duelist anymore; that would effectively hinder any chance of coming close to him he might have. And Jonouchi had actually said that if Kaiba stopped calling him mutt he wouldn't fight either. Kaiba smiled ever so slightly at the memory and the sense of victory he had gotten before realizing something that made the smile fade away; he was thinking about Jonouchi, and _smiling_.

Smiling. He never smiled; not towards anyone unless it was a smirk followed by a snide remark or a fitting insult. He did smile towards Mokuba, but that was his brother, and someone he truly cared about. The only logical conclusion he could draw from the discussion he was holding with himself was that he only smiled towards people he cared about.

Did he care about Jonouchi?

* * *

"Dad, didya loose yer key again?" The voice became louder as the person came closer behind the closed door, and when he opened he sighed, his face turned down. "I can't keep payin' fer new ones, it'll –"

He looked up and honey colored eyes met ice cold blue ones. The color drained from his face so fast the brunet actually felt a small sting of worry. Then the blond quickly pushed the door shut so only a small part of his face was shown, and the hallway behind him was hidden.

"Kaiba! 'The hell are you doin' 'ere?" Jonouchi hissed, some of the color returning to his face in the form of an angered blush.

"I wanted to see for myself," Kaiba said truthfully.

"See what, how fuckin' poor I am?" Jonouchi practically shouted. "Yeah well, congrats; you've fuckin' seen it! Now get outta 'ere!"

"Jonouchi…," Kaiba began and put a hand on the door, trying to push it open. Jonouchi stood his ground, however, and he was surprisingly strong. Kaiba at least managed to keep the door open.

"No! Go back ta yer fuckin' perfect house and yer fuckin' perfect life, jus' get outta 'ere! You've seen how I live, yer jus' gonna use it against me now, ain't ya?" Jonouchi's eyes were burning with rage, but unlike usually, the sight didn't make Kaiba want to fight back. Instead, he simply felt sorry for the blond, knowing what had made him like this in the first place. "That's the only reason ya said all those things, isn't it? Ya didn't mean it; everythin' with the mirror n' all that shit!"

Kaiba suddenly used all of his strength to force the door open, pushing Jonouchi back into the apartment. The blond stumbled backwards, but managed to keep his balance. He looked frightened, and with all the reason. Kaiba's face was twisted into an ugly grimace; his hair covering most of his eyes and his teeth gritted. He slammed the door shut behind himself and immediately caught Jonouchi's wrist, pulling the blond up close. Jonouchi seemed too scared to fight back – violence wasn't something Kaiba usually used.

"I did _not_ lie about that, you dumb m–" He bit off the word before he finished it and pulled himself together a bit, but kept his grip on the blond's wrist. "_Jonouchi_. What I want to know is; does anyone else know?"

"H-Honda. A-an' Yugi." Jonouchi stuttered, his eyes fluttering in examination of Kaiba's features only centimeters away from his own face.

"How have you managed to survive?" Kaiba asked; his voice becoming lower now and his body relaxed – his grip on Jonouchi's wrist loosened.

"I-I've taken some jobs 'ere and there… it's not that hard… once ya get used ta it…" Jonouchi was starting to mumble, he avoided eye contact and his free hand was desperately fiddling with the edge of his shirt. "It's… ya know…"

"Jonouchi…," Kaiba said softly. "Why are you still living with him? You're nearly eighteen; you can get your own place."

"No! I-I can't leave him…" He still wouldn't meet Kaiba's eyes, which worried the brunet. "He…he needs me; I hafta take care of him…it's all my fault."

"What's your fault, Jonouchi?" It was like a drug; he couldn't stop calling the blond by his actual name. After years of calling him 'mutt' and 'puppy' and a dozen other similar names, using his real name was like a proof they didn't hate each other anymore. Kaiba knew he still had a long way before he would be allowed to call Jonouchi by his first name, though. Not even Yugi had that privilege.

"He always says that. It's my fault mom and Shizuka left." Jonouchi slowly stopped fiddling with his clothes and his voice became dull; his accent practically disappeared. "Dad says so, so it has to be true. It's all my fault."

Kaiba couldn't do anything but stare. Did Jonouchi truly, _honestly_ blame himself for everything his father had done? How could he? And how could Jonouchi senior put the blame on his own teenage son? He snapped out of his own thoughts and grabbed Jonouchi's shoulders, shaking him gently.

"Jonouchi, that _is not_ true. Do you hear me? It is not true, you have to believe me." Kaiba had to shake Jonouchi a bit harder before the blond seemed to react; he slowly raised his head until his eyes met Kaiba's. The brunet almost cringed at the sight – Jonouchi's normally warm and deep eyes seemed so lifeless, empty; cold like Kaiba's. "Jonouchi…" Kaiba said again without being able to stop himself.

"Kaiba…" Jonouchi responded in an almost trance-like way, and Kaiba could suddenly feel the blond's breath on his lips. He hadn't realized how close they were standing. His eyes went down from Jonouchi's own to his lips; they were slightly parted, dried up, and definitely nothing special – and yet he couldn't look away.

But then he heard something that drew a tiny gasp from his lips and made his stomach twist into a ball of nervousness; someone was standing right outside the door, fumbling with some keys and something else. Kaiba thanked his lucky stars for his good hearing.

"Boy? Ya home?" a hoarse voice came floating through the door. Kaiba didn't even have to see the man to imagine what kind of monster the voice belonged to—drunk, unshaven, dirty clothes and even dirtier body, barely being able to stand up straight…

Kaiba grabbed Jonouchi's shoulders harder and part dragged, part pushed him into the closest room before quietly closing the door behind them. The blond still seemed a bit unfocused, but Kaiba looked around and realized he hit the right room – this was Jonouchi's bedroom alright. There were two posters on the wall; one showing the Red Eyes Black Dragon and one old movie poster. There was a window, a bed, a nightstand, and a wardrobe. On the nightstand was a picture of a young Jonouchi and an even younger Shizuka, a couple of magazines, and Jonouchi's deck.

"Jonouchi." Kaiba murmured and gently shook the blond again. For the first time, he got a real reaction as Jonouchi's eyes suddenly cleared up and he looked up at Kaiba, blinking in confusion. Kaiba let out a sigh in relief and actually smiled slightly towards Jonouchi. That if anything seemed to confuse the blond, but then he froze as he too heard something from outside.

"Boy? Issat you?" There was a sound of the door opening and the closing, someone coughing. "Where ya at?"

Jonouchi made a sudden movement towards his bedroom door and Kaiba had to stop him from simply walking out of there.

"You can't go out there!" Kaiba hissed.

"But," Kaiba shook him slightly again, which made him lower his voice, "he needs me. I hafta take care of him…he needs me." He almost pleaded; looking so miserable Kaiba felt a sting at his heart. Then the blond blinked and seemed to realize something. "Shit, Kaiba, ya can't stay here! If he finds ya 'ere, he'll…!" he trailed off, but his terrified expression said it all.

Then Kaiba did something very stupid and very heroic at the same time. He straightened up slightly, his hands still on Jonouchi's shoulder, and looked the shorter teen right in his eyes.

"I am not leaving unless you are too." He said.

Jonouchi gaped at him. Then he got angrier, raising his hands as well as his voice.

"Fuck, Kaiba, I'm serious!" he tried to hiss and scream at the same time.

"Me too," Kaiba said, and put all his strength into his eyes—staring right at Jonouchi until he could see the blond budge. Jonouchi chewed his lip and his eyes went back and forth between Kaiba's face and something behind him—but Kaiba wouldn't look back to check what it was. Finally, Jonouchi nodded ever so slightly. He barely even moved his head, but Kaiba saw it and he wasted no time interpreting it.

"Boy?" the voice outside said, much angrier now, as Kaiba dragged Jonouchi to the window. There was a fire escape outside, but Kaiba had to struggle to pull up the old window. It creaked in protest, but finally gave in. When he turned around again, Jonouchi simply stood there, fiddling with his own fingers.

"M-maybe I should stay, h-he needs me…," he stuttered and twisted his fingers around themselves.

Kaiba reached out and grabbed the front of Jonouchi's shirt, pulling him up incredibly close to himself; nose and eyes and lips nothing but a hair's breath away.

"You're coming with me, and that's final," Kaiba growled, which made Jonouchi gulp. The brunet practically shoved Jonouchi out the window before following him, but before he pushed the blond down the ladder he took a quick glance back and noticed something. Quickly, he reached back through the window and picked up the items that had caught his attention, and carefully put them in his pocket. Then he turned his full attention towards trying to make Jonouchi climb down the ladder faster.

* * *

Once they reached Kaiba's mansion – riding in his limousine – Jonouchi had calmed down a bit and was starting to return to his normal self. He was obviously mad, and if Kaiba had to guess, a bit embarrassed too. However, he followed Kaiba up the path from the front gates to his door.

"Fuck, Kaiba, I can't believe ya did that," he muttered. "Fuckit… I gotta go back."

Kaiba stopped at the top of the stairs, turned towards Jonouchi but with one hand resting on the handle of the door.

"If you did, he would beat you again, would he not?"

"No!" Jonouchi immediately yelled. He stood a bit further down on the steps and swept out with his hands. "He wouldn't! Ya don't know him, he really wouldn't!"

"Jonouchi, I think I have seen enough to realize your relation with your father is not the best." He carefully avoided mentioning the fact that he had snooped around in his private life as well. "Would you at least…stay here until you're sure your father is asleep, so you can go home safely?"

Jonouchi didn't say anything, but crossed his arms and looked away, pouting slightly.

"Stay the night." Kaiba added quietly. Jonouchi blinked and drew in a sharp breath, snapping his head towards Kaiba. The brunet gulped practically unnoticeably and could feel his cheeks heating for a reason he didn't quite understand, but he kept the eye contact with Jonouchi. Finally, Jonouchi broke the eye contact and looked away, and just maybe his cheeks had a pink tint to them as well.

"… Alright, fine." He said, uncrossing his arms and jamming his hands down the pockets of his jeans instead. He walked up the stairs and Kaiba opened the door for them both, awkwardly pretending nothing had happened.

The very first room in Kaiba's house was nothing but a long hallway, but the entire right wall was a mirror stretching from the floor to the ceiling. Jonouchi took one glance at it and cursed under his breath.

"Yer doin' this on purpose, aren't ya?"

Kaiba simply chuckled and continued down the corridor. He could hear Jonouchi quickly following him, and when he glanced at the mirror he realized why; when they were far away from each other it seemed as if the threads running between their bodies were stretched out – and quite frankly it looked a bit painful. Kaiba slowed down enough to allow Jonouchi to walk right next to him instead, and felt a wave of relief as the blond did. But when he looked into the mirror he realized both Jonouchi and himself looked very, very uncomfortable being so close to one another.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

**A/N:** Guys? I feel so stupid for having to ask this but the truth is I've barely seen YGO. So, my question is, I know that in the manga, Otogi's father is all crazy and that he owns the other game shop, but do they ever mention his parents in the anime? Like, at all?


	4. Foes for life

**A/N:** Ohmigoooosh, I am so sorry! I was supposed to upload this chapter almost a week ago but my fanfiction account wouldn't let me! And uh, I've had nothing but excuses for this story, haven't I? Uuugh, fanfictiondotnet doesn't seem to like it~  
ChibiHikariIchi told me how to get by the 'error' message! Go show her some luurve! X3

The reason I wanted to know more about Otogi is not because I wanted to use manga cannon, but anime cannon. So if they never really mention his parents in the anime I'm going to make up my own background story for him, which is what I wanted to do all long. Either that or I'll just slap an 'AU' tag on the story xD

* * *

Jonouchi snapped open his eyes and sat up so fast his head spun.

He didn't know where he was — didn't even know what had happened. The room he was in was huge; far, far better than any room he had ever been in. The walls were covered in wooden panels, the floor was red carpeting, an entire wall was nothing but a window covered by light white curtains — the sun shone in and brightened up the whole room. The bed he was sitting in was also huge, and soft, warm…

Jonouchi shook his head, trying to clear it. The place seemed so peaceful; so why was his heart beating at a mile per minute? Then, it all came back to him; what had happened and why he was lying in a bed which clearly wasn't his own.

Kaiba had shown up at his place, demanding to know everything about Jonouchi and his father – then his dad had showed up too and Kaiba had forced him to flee. And then Jonouchi had actually spent the night in Kaiba's mansion. God, what had he been thinking? It was like – No, he _had_ been sleeping at his enemy's house. If his father knew – Ah shit, he had to go back there. Go back to the apartment and make sure his father hadn't hurt himself somehow, and try to explain where he had been all night.

The blond scrambled out of bed, but didn't get much further than that as he noticed the sun falling in from the windows warmed up his back. His toes sunk down into the fluffy carpet, and the bed had been so very comfortable; would it hurt if he got back in there and slept for just a few more minutes?

A faint knocking was heard on the door. Jonouchi froze.

"Jonouchi?" It was Kaiba. "There is breakfast now, if you want some."

It was odd. The brunet didn't sound unsure or uncomfortable, or any of the things Jonouchi felt like. In fact, he sounded as confident as usual with nothing but a slight difference: his voice wasn't filled with the usual spite he used against Jonouchi. He actually sounded…friendly. But Jonouchi didn't reply, and soon he could hear Kaiba walking away again.

Damn it, what was he going to do now? He really had to leave and get back home. Even though Kaiba might be friendly now, who knew how long that would last? And the things the brunet had seen…Kaiba was going to use it against him, he just knew it. What could he do to prevent that from happening? It wasn't as if he could bribe the brunet into not saying anything, or threaten him…maybe they could just make a deal in silence, so that no one else would know.

It took Jonouchi a moment before he managed to locate his clothes, but after he had put them on he stepped out of his bedroom and followed the lovely smell of breakfast down to the kitchen. Everything in there was shiny and new and top-modern, with only the latest technology and finest of food. Jonouchi's mouth started to water and he could feel his stomach growling as he saw the food laid out on the table; bacon, eggs, toast, cereal…

Kaiba looked up from behind his newspaper when he heard Jonouchi enter the room.

"So you _were_ awake. I thought I heard something," he said. "Have a seat."

Jonouchi gulped again. "Look, Kaiba… I really gotta get back home. I—" he drew in a sharp breath and changed the direction of the sentence. "Thanks fer lettin' me stay here, I guess… but I gotta go back home, my dad's –" He breathed in again and fell silent. Kaiba simply watched him for a moment.

"What do you really think…will happen?" he asked.

"What do I think will happen 'bout what? I-if I go back ta my dad's n' he's all mad at me and beats me up again? If I go back n' he's not there? If he's gone without me? Or if I go back n' find him unconscious, or dead? If I stay 'ere and eat breakfast wit' ya, or what?" His voice rose more and more and by the end of the sentence he was yelling.

Kaiba put down his newspaper. "Jonouchi…"

"Stop fuckin' callin' me that! I hate it! Why are ya bein' so fuckin' nice alluva sudden?"

"So you liked it better when I called you 'mutt'?" Kaiba said and hastily stood up, his voice louder too. "Well, if you do not want my help and if you are fine with us being enemies for no reason at all, then go ahead. _Leave_. I won't stop you."

"Fuckit, Kaiba, I—" He blinked and trailed off as he realized something. "H-help?" he said, repeating the word spoke by Kaiba. The brunet's eyes narrowed.

"I am willing to help you with your father, if you are willing to _let_ me help you."

"You'd… you'd do that?" Jonouchi wondered, forgetting to be angry. Why would Kaiba help him? And, even though he wouldn't admit it to anyone and barely even himself—the offer warmed. Sometimes Honda and Yugi helped him too of course, but for some reason the words spoken by the brunet in front of him weighed more—he could feel how they slowly warmed him up from the inside out, like a fire. So much a tiny, unsure smile even appeared on his face.

"Yes," Kaiba replied; his voice softer now. He walked around the table and stopped in front of Jonouchi. The blonde vaguely noticed how Kaiba seemed less intimidating without his white coat constantly swishing around his ankles. Just as well, the black pants and shirt he was wearing now really complimented his lean figure. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Kaiba spoke up again. "If we aren't enemies, of course I will help you," he said; his blue eyes unreadable.

"I-I…," Jonouchi stuttered, finding himself incapable of thinking straight when he looked into Kaiba's eyes. "I-I…I really hafta go." He mentally slapped himself for saying that but there was no way he could take it back now. He spun around so fast he didn't even catch the disappointed glint in Kaiba's eyes.

Jonouchi started walking towards the hallway, leaving towards the front door, and could hear Kaiba following him just as quickly.

"Jonouchi, wait." Said person found himself slowing down. In a way, he was really glad Kaiba tried to stop him, since he didn't want to leave in the first place. He wanted to stay there, and never go back again, forgetting about his own problems. He managed to reach the corridor before he stopped entirely, and suddenly…he and Kaiba were standing there in front of another mirror again.

The sight made the both of them cringe; the barely visible, slightly glowing threads between them were worse than before — not as bad as the first time they had seen them, but still not as good as they had been last night. There were more cut off threads and more tangled ones…So something must've happened since last night that made it worse, but what? Well, they had fought, for one. And Jonouchi… Jonouchi's distrust for Kaiba had been starting to come back.

Unconsciously, both of them moved closer to the other. It might not fix anything, but it did look better in the reflection. Kaiba slowly lifted his hand, and Jonouchi saw something in the mirror that made him stop breathing for a moment. Kaiba's hand was trembling — Oh God, he was trembling — _Kaiba Seto_ was unsure, hesitant, tentative, _human_. He placed his hand on Jonouchi's shoulder and the blond could suddenly breathe again.

He found himself overpowered by the sudden urge to touch Kaiba as well, but the way they stood — Kaiba standing a bit to the side and just behind Jonouchi — made it impossible. Perhaps it was for the best, since Jonouchi realized it was a very odd thought to be having. He stood still and let his eyes wander freely over his and Kaiba's bodies instead, while he felt the brunet do the same.

Jonouchi opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. It felt as if speaking would ruin the moment, but he finally gathered enough courage to say it anyway.

"On the…on the mirror house, there was a…quote on the outside," he said; his voice low and gentle, not like it had been only minutes ago. "It said somethin' like…like…We learn our flaws — no, qualities — from our friends n' our…our, eh…" He trailed off, realizing he didn't remember it at all.

"_'We learn our virtues from our friends who love us; our faults from the enemy who hates us. We cannot easily discover the real character from a friend. He is a mirror, on which the warmth of our breaths impedes the clearness of the reflection_,'" Kaiba recited perfectly, but softly, and not with the smugness Jonouchi would have expected. His expression was soft too.

"Y-yeah…I never really…I never really got that." Normally, he would have been ashamed to admit that, but now it didn't seem as if it mattered. Kaiba wouldn't mock him; not here, not now. Not in front of the mirror.

"It means that we can learn our true character from our friends — but because you are friends, your kindness clouds the truth. Surely, real friends have trouble telling each other about the other one's flaws, when you do not want to destroy that friendship by being too honest and straightforward?" Jonouchi felt a sting at his heart when Kaiba asked the question — at the mere fact that it _was_ a question. Kaiba didn't know; he didn't have friends. "But enemies easily tell each other about the other one's flaws, since all they care about is hurting the other."

Despite how much the brunet tried to hide it, Jonouchi saw the flash of sadness in Kaiba's eyes as he said that, and briefly wondered what it felt like to not have friends. Kaiba's hand on his shoulder suddenly felt heavier.

"How did ya… how didya know that?"

"I studied a lot of his texts when I was younger." his voice was still low, mellow.

"Whose texts?"

"His name is Jean Paul; he was a German Romantic writer who wrote a lot about…life and death, and the life after death." The images popped into both Jonouchi and Kaiba's heads immediately — Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs, priests…

"That quote; it sounds…true," Jonouchi admitted. God, how he wished he could move closer to Kaiba right now; comfort him somehow. He almost felt like turning around to really face Kaiba — but then, he wouldn't be able to look into the mirror anymore.

"Yes," Kaiba said, his voice hollow. But then a spark seemed to reignite in his eyes; the corners of his mouths twitched. "Do you know what else he said?" Jonouchi dumbly shook his head, wishing Kaiba would move closer, since he really couldn't do it himself. But then Kaiba started sliding his hand down Jonouchi's back, and the blond had to bite back the gasp that followed with the touch. "He said: '_Two aged men, who had been foes for life, met by a grave and wept — and in those tears they washed away the memory of their strife — then they wept again, over the loss of all those years'_." Kaiba's hand settled somewhere on Jonouchi's lower back.

The blond felt a shiver go up his spine as the words sunk in and he realized what Kaiba meant.

Damn it, it was so true. Only putting away their rivalry for a day had revealed a whole new side to Kaiba that Jonouchi hadn't even known existed—the brunet really could be caring and nice and gentle when he wanted to…if they stopped being enemies for life, who knew what could happen?

Kaiba's hand dropped down even more and left Jonouchi's body entirely — the blond immediately missed the body contact and reached out, seizing Kaiba's hand in a firm but gentle grip. The brunet drew in a breath but then actually smiled — it was a small smile, but a smile none the less. Jonouchi shyly smiled back while it felt as if his whole being was on fire — a sun was lighting him up from the inside and making him feel all warm and bubbly and incredibly, incredibly happy. If he had been paying attention — if he had been at his full senses — he would've noticed how the glow around the threads seemed to increase. A few of them straightened out; two loose ends even became a whole thread again.

He didn't know how long they stood like that — really, it didn't seem important — but once that initial wave of pure happiness had passed by, Jonouchi's smile faded a little as the real world started coming back to him. He finally dared to tear his eyes away from their reflection and turned around to face Kaiba. The brunet seemed a bit worried Jonouchi had done that, but the blond kept his grip on Kaiba's hand, which seemed to calm him down a bit.

"Kaiba…" Jonouchi almost whispered. "I really hafta go." Kaiba frowned a little and wordlessly shook his head. "I know, I know…but I hafta…I gotta…m-my dad." He didn't realize Kaiba's other hand was gently caressing his cheek until he found his own hand gripping tightly at Kaiba's shirt. The space between them lessened. "K-Kaiba…" Jonouchi whimpered.

Kaiba let out a sound deep down in his throat which sent a jolt straight to Jonouchi's stomach; his breath was running over the blond's lips and making them tingle. Their eyes slowly fell shut but then Jonouchi suddenly turned his head; his forehead dropping down to rest on Kaiba's shoulder.

"This isn't…W-we can't…," he croaked. A lump was forming in the back of his throat and making it harder to speak. "M-my dad… I-I hafta go."

He tore himself away from Kaiba, letting go of his hand and carefully avoiding looking into the mirror. He was soon standing in front of the door; Kaiba right behind him. There he paused—could he really just leave?

"Jonouchi, please…" Said person cringed at Kaiba's tone — since when did the brunet plead? "At least, take this."

Jonouchi had to turn around to be able to see what 'this' was; it looked like a business card. When he took it and read it, he realized it was the number, e-mail and address of a rehab center located not far outside Domino City.

"If it gets worse," Kaiba explained and desperately tried to catch Jonouchi's eyes, but they were hidden underneath golden locks of hair. "And… I took this from your room. I figured they would be safer here, with you."

He held out two more things; Jonouchi's deck, and the picture of him and his sister when they were younger. Jonouchi took the items with trembling hands — at first he was about to snap at Kaiba for taking his personal belongings, but then he realized the brunet really had done it out of kindness.

"Th-thanks. Fer everythin'."

Jonouchi turned around again and opened the door — he was out of there before Kaiba could say anything else, but he could feel the brunet's eyes on his back while walking. However, once he was sure Kaiba had stopped watching he reached into his pocket and took out the business cards he had been given. After a quick glance at it, he crushed it in his hand before throwing it away on the ground.

And then he left the Kaiba mansion without looking back.

* * *

**A/N:** Yesss, Jean Paul existed for real, yessss, he said those things, nooo, I didn't know about the second quote when I picked the first one. Coincidence? I think not.


	5. Almost

**A/N:** Hello, my darlings~! Thank you for all the lovely reviews I've gotten so far! X3 *huggles*

* * *

"May I sit with you?"

The gang stared at Kaiba. He had just walked up to them while they were sitting in the cafeteria, eating their lunch, and _asked if he could sit with them_. Jonouchi and Anzu simply stared, Yugi looked shocked, a piece of food fell out of Honda's open mouth, and Otogi was smirking slightly for some reason.

"O-of course!" Yugi squeaked, once he managed to find his voice again.

Kaiba sat down next to him and opposite of Honda (Who still stared) and started unpacking his carefully prepared lunch. An uncomfortable silence stretched out over the table, but the source of the awkwardness didn't seem to notice. Or he didn't care, which was more likely. Jonouchi had to kicked Honda under the table to make him stop gawking at Kaiba like an idiot. The brunet jumped slightly and snapped his mouth shut.

After a beat, Yugi managed to continue talking again, albeit a bit awkwardly and with a laugh that sounded just a tad fake. Anzu quickly caught on and soon she, Yugi, and Otogi were discussing something intensely. Honda was listening too, but he was too busy shoving food into his mouth to actually say something. Jonouchi, however, wasn't listening. He was glaring at Kaiba, but the brunet kept his eyes on his food.

The blond was pissed, to say the least. Okay sure; Kaiba could become friends with them over time, but he was moving way, way too fast. It was the same when he had simply shown up at Jonouchi's place, saying that he, "Wanted to see for himself!"

How had he even found out about Jonouchi's father? It had taken Honda several years to find out, and Yugi even longer. The little King of Games didn't even know how severe the situation really was. Only Honda knew, and Jonouchi had intended on keeping it that way. Then that smug CEO had come along and ruined everything. He even said he could _help_ Jonouchi. But he didn't want Kaiba's help. Why would he accept the help of his former (?) enemy?

And even if he did let Kaiba help him (and he wasn't entirely sure just _how_ he would help), the brunet would probably want something back sooner or later. And Jonouchi simply didn't have any way of repaying a possible debt. But if Kaiba really knew how bad things were with Jonouchi and his father, he knew that Jonouchi didn't have any money either.

Jonouchi sighed and sunk down on his chair, stubbornly crossing his arms.

* * *

"'The hell was that about?"

"I beg your pardon?" Kaiba turned around, facing Jonouchi. They were the only ones left in the hallway again, but this time it was Jonouchi who had waited for Kaiba. The blond looked rather angry and his voice had been loud, but Kaiba was only showing a little surprise.

"Ya know what I meant! Why the hell didya sit wit' us durin' lunch?"

"…Are you seriously going to pick a fight over that?" His voice was calm.

Jonouchi growled. He couldn't believe how Kaiba could keep his cool all the time. It was so annoying, but at the same time he wished he could do the same—it could be really useful.

"Why are ya bein' so fuckin' friendly alluva sudden?" Jonouchi wanted to know, his voice raised.

"Why are _you_ being so stubborn?" There was a small pause between 'so' and 'stubborn', and Jonouchi suddenly got the feeling it was because Kaiba had to stop himself from cursing. The thought made him smirk, but then he got serious again.

"I've always been like this! Yer the one who's changin'!"

"And you don't want me to, is that it?" Kaiba's voice was rising now too, much to Jonouchi's relief. Somehow this was better – the old throwing insults and snide remarks at each other were more familiar than actually being friendly. It felt more normal, safe. If Kaiba started to get friendly, who knew what else could happen?

"No, I fuckin' don't!"

"But we had an agreement –!"

"I didn't fuckin' agree to anythin'! That was all you!"

"That is not true and you know it," Kaiba said and quieted down a bit, relaxing his body. "I agreed not to call you mutt anymore, and you said you wouldn't pick any more fights. Which is exactly what you're doing now!" He swept out with his hands.

"I didn't agree to anythin' like th–" But Kaiba continued before Jonouchi could finish his sentence.

"But if you want to break your part of the agreement then I guess I might as well break mine! How do you like that, _mutt_?" Kaiba spat out the word, making Jonouchi growl and grit his teeth. "What's that, the filthy mongrel is all bark and no bite? I always knew you were a weak little dog with no –"

But then Jonouchi couldn't take it anymore. With a wordless roar he launched himself at Kaiba, who immediately raised his arms for protection. However, Jonouchi had the element of surprise on his side and managed to land a punch at Kaiba's jawline—but it wasn't really that hard thanks to Kaiba's fast reflexes. The brunet almost instantly responded with punching Jonouchi in the stomach—the blond coughed and lost his breath, giving Kaiba enough time to move away a bit.

Jonouchi still wasn't satisfied, and as soon as he regained his breath he attacked Kaiba again, aiming at his side this time, and successfully making Kaiba loose his breath too. The brunet won some time by kicking at Jonouchi's legs and for a split second the blond thought he would lose his balance, but then Kaiba grabbed at the front of his shirt and shoved him up against the lockers. Jonouchi gasped and lost his barely regained breath again, but Kaiba kept pushing him into the wall.

The blond's feet were barely touching the floor and Kaiba showed no sign of stopping – Jonouchi started grasping at the brunet's arm, the one holding him in place.

"K-Kaiba…" Jonouchi gasped; his voice hoarse.

Kaiba's eyes suddenly widened and his grip instantly disappeared. Jonouchi dropped down to the floor and his knees gave in – he would have toppled over if it wasn't for a pair of strong hands keeping him standing. Jonouchi didn't even bother to ask for permission or anything and dropped his head onto Kaiba's shoulder, coughing and gasping slightly.

Kaiba didn't seem to mind though, and was breathing just as heavily as Jonouchi. After a moment he let go of Jonouchi's shoulders – he could stand on his own now – and placed one hand on the lockers, supporting all of his weight on it. Jonouchi opened his previously closed eyes and found himself looking down at Kaiba's heaving chest. Shit. He hadn't really meant to hurt the brunet, but his temper took control over him sometimes. It hurt when Kaiba called him mutt—more than before for some reason, but even so it had been his own fault for being so damn stubborn again. He should probably apologize.

Jonouchi opened his mouth and drew in a breath only to be interrupted by Kaiba.

"I'm sorry." Jonouchi blinked and then his eyes widened as the words sunk in. He could feel Kaiba shift slightly under his forehead but didn't bother looking up. The brunet cleared his throat. "I shouldn't have called you mutt."

Jonouchi managed to find his voice.

"Ah no, I-I shouldn't have picked a fight again," He realized something was lacking from his statement. "I'm sorry too."

"…Is getting close to people always this hard?" Kaiba said after what felt like several minutes. Jonouchi laughed lightly and lifted up his head only to drop it backwards, leaning against the lockers instead. Kaiba's hand was right next to his head and the brunet was leaning in over him a little.

"Yeah. But bein' a complete jerk certainly doesn't help."

"Am I really?"

Jonouchi was on the verge of saying 'yeah' again, but sensed something hidden deep within Kaiba's normally cold eyes and had to rethink. During the past few days Kaiba really had been nice. Or he had tried to at least.

"…Not always," Jonouchi finally said. Kaiba smiled a crooked little smile and the blond suddenly felt blood rush to his cheeks. "But eh, yanno, people aren't always the way ya first think, like, I don't always let my emotions get ta me like that, I actually try ta—" he blabbered.

"I like you that way," Kaiba interrupted. Jonouchi blinked and then stared, snapping his mouth shut. _He what?_ Kaiba must've noticed the strangeness too because he cleared his throat before obviously trying to clarify what he meant. "I mean, it keeps things interesting. I never know what you are going to do next and I like it that way. Even though I normally like things to be organized having someone around to break that once in a while makes life more interesting."

Jonouchi couldn't help but smile slightly and look away, embarrassed. _Kaiba liked him._ Not that it mattered. Or wait, did it matter? It certainly felt like it did, judging by the way it felt as if he was being warmed up from the inside out. Just like the last time they had been standing in front of the mirror together…

The blond looked over Kaiba's shoulder and met his own eyes in the window on the opposite wall. The way they were standing – Kaiba was more or less blocking his view – made it impossible to see the threads between their bodies, but seeing his own reflection was still reassuring somehow. And he almost… liked seeing Kaiba standing leaned in over him like that; it looked like the brunet was protecting him, and not like they had just been fighting each other with their bare fists.

Kaiba cleared his throat yet again and pulled away, removing his hand from the locker and standing up straight. Jonouchi's eyes disappeared from the reflection and settled on Kaiba's face instead. The brunet's eyes were hidden underneath his bangs, and Jonouchi frowned.

"What's wrong?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing."

"Kaiba…" he knew he sounded accusing but he couldn't help himself.

"You think I'm moving too fast, do you not?" Kaiba looked up and met Jonouchi's eyes. The blond hated it, but he really couldn't decipher Kaiba's expression. But Jonouchi snorted.

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to back off?"

"…No."

He didn't know what it was that made him say it, but somehow it felt as if it was what Kaiba needed right now. And maybe, just maybe, it was a little bit true too. He kind of liked this little dance he was doing with Kaiba—on the edge of being enemies. It was a lot more… exciting (in the lack of a better term) than simply trying to figure out the best way of insulting the other. Or at least Jonouchi had to struggle to find insults; Kaiba could always use the usual dog-jokes. Apparently those never got old.

Kaiba looked at Jonouchi with an almost soft expression on his face, and then said:

"In that case, may I ask something?" Jonouchi simply shrugged. "Have you done something about your father?"

Jonouchi's eyes immediately darkened and he looked away without saying anything. No, he hadn't done anything about his father. What the hell was he supposed to do, send him to rehab? He couldn't do that! It was his father after all, and Jonouchi preferred to have him around so he could always look after him. In a way he knew it was wrong that a child had to look after its parent, but… there was nothing else he could do.

"Jonouchi –"

"Shut up!" Jonouchi snapped, but instantly calmed down again. "I know, okay? I just… I know." He sighed and could feel how his shoulders dropped. Then he drew in a sharp breath and his whole body stiffened as a pair of arms wound themselves around his neck, pulling him closer to Kaiba's body. Almost instinctively, Jonouchi's hands came up to rest by the brunet's waist – but his eyes were still wide open in shock, and he was looking right into Kaiba's shoulder. It took a moment before he managed to close his eyes and relax, sneaking his arms around Kaiba's waist and bringing him even closer. He drew in a breath and the scent of Kaiba filled his nose – he couldn't quite place it, but he liked it. It made him feel safe.

After nothing but a couple of seconds, Kaiba started pulling away again, but Jonouchi kept him in place; his face still buried into the brunet's shoulder. Kaiba made a questioning sound.

"Yer the one who started n' yer stayin' 'til I'm satisfied."

Kaiba's chest moved a little underneath Jonouchi's nose and the blond couldn't help but wonder if Kaiba was chuckling. But at least the brunet stayed in place, his arms still around Jonouchi's neck. Jonouchi allowed himself to let out a contented sigh. He very, very rarely hugged people, and people hugged him even more rarely. It wasn't as if he had anyone to hug – there was only his sister, really, and he barely ever saw her. He liked it though, and even if it was weird to hug _Kaiba_, it still made him all warm inside.

Jonouchi finally pulled away and Kaiba did the same. The blond was a bit afraid to meet Kaiba's eyes, even though he wasn't quite sure why, but he did so anyways. The brunet had that same soft expression again that looked a bit out of place on his face. Suddenly he raised his hand and caught Jonouchi's chin in a strong grip, lifting his head up slightly. Jonouchi almost stopped breathing. Kaiba came closer; his eyelids falling shut and his lips slightly parted.

With a sharp breath, Jonouchi placed his hands on Kaiba's chest and quickly pushed him away. Kaiba's eyes snapped open and he lost his grip on the blond's chin. Jonouchi simply stared at the brunet, his chest heaving as if they had just been fighting again.

Kaiba looked really distressed, reached out his hand for the blond and opened his mouth to say something, but Jonouchi slapped away the hand and stumbled backwards, trying to get away. His back hit the lockers and he almost fell over at the sudden impact. But he regained his balance and took another few steps away from Kaiba. Then he suddenly spun around and ran away, leaving the school with tears burning at the corners of his eyes.


	6. Rain and tears

Nothing really happened between Kaiba and Jonouchi. They didn't even fight, which seemed to please Yugi, while at the same time making Honda suspicious. The truth was, Kaiba was desperately trying to get closer to Jonouchi; he greeted him and rarely got an answer, sat close to him in class but was ignored and — Kaiba was sure the blond did it on purpose — Jonouchi was constantly surrounded by his friends. Kaiba wanted to talk to him in private, but that was impossible with Yugi or Anzu or Honda always being close to him.

Kaiba wanted to know if anything had changed with Jonouchi's father; if he had done anything about it. But, judging by the blond's actions, nothing had changed. And even when Jonouchi was with his friends, he was oddly quiet and distant.

Kaiba hadn't given up — definitely not. He just needed some sort of…plan, in the lack of a better term. He knew he couldn't just show up at Jonouchi's apartment again — it was pure luck his father hadn't been there the first time. And even if Jonouchi's father wasn't there, the blond would surely be just as mad again. Kaiba couldn't blame him. But he wished there was something he could do.

It was odd — Jonouchi was taking up most of his thoughts. He really wanted to help him — which was such an unusual thought, he didn't know what to do with it or with himself. He wanted him to be happy. And if Jonouchi was happy, Kaiba was happy; and maybe the threads between them which only seemed to appear in front of mirrors would heal.

He sighed.

It was Saturday night, and he really shouldn't be working, but he was. Or, at least, he _had_ been working. Then images of the blond had popped up into his head and effectively hindered him from getting anything done. He saved and closed down the window on his laptop, his eyes wandering from this desk to Mokuba sitting in front of the huge widescreen, playing some video games. Mokuba didn't want to be in his own room — even though he wouldn't admit why Kaiba knew it was because there was a thunderstorm passing over the city at the moment.

When Kaiba heard a faint knocking, he first thought it was just the branches knocking against the window. Then he heard it again, followed by the door-bell. Mokuba looked up from his game and gave Kaiba a surprised look, but the brunet looked back with a similar face.

Since it was the weekend, the few servants and maids Kaiba had weren't there, so he had to go open the door for himself. Mokuba stayed behind, however. When Kaiba passed by the mirror in the hallway, he glanced at it but only saw himself. However, he hadn't really expected anything else. He opened the door and a square of light fell out on a single figure standing there in the dark.

Jonouchi needed no words. He just stood there in the rain, tears or raindrops or both running down his cheeks; his clothes torn and tattered and plastered against his beaten up skin. And Kaiba reached out and grabbed his shoulders, gently, and pulled him close, close; wound his arms around his cold body and let the blond feel his body warmth. Jonouchi buried his face into Kaiba's shoulder and his whole body shook while he clung onto the brunet as if he was about to drown.

Kaiba felt his own eyes starting to fill up and his throat felt thick — God, what was happening to him? He hadn't cried in years but the simple fact that he knew how much it would take to make Jonouchi cry… Strong, brave, caring Jonouchi — how could anyone hurt him so badly he actually _cried?_

Eventually, Kaiba managed to pull Jonouchi into the house completely and closed the door behind them. He slipped the wet jacket off Jonouchi's shoulders — still keeping as little distance between them as possible — and dropped it on the floor, not caring where it fell. He was practically walking backwards into the living room, with Jonouchi still in his arms, careful not to trip over anything.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw a neatly folded blanket lying in the couch, and two cups of hot chocolate on the low table next to it. God, he loved Mokuba. Kaiba dropped down on the couch and pulled Jonouchi with him, immediately picking up the blanket and throwing it around the blond. Then they sat there; Kaiba with his arms around Jonouchi and Jonouchi still grasping at the front of Kaiba's shirt as if he was afraid to let go.

Jonouchi's clothes were still soaking wet, and Kaiba kept running his fingers through the blond hair, combing it out. After a while, Jonouchi's body stopped trembling and he became so still Kaiba started to get worried…and then, he looked down and realized the blond had fallen asleep. The sight really calmed Kaiba's nerves — Jonouchi looked so peaceful now, completely careless.

He combed his fingers through Jonouchi's hair one final time before carefully getting up, lifting up Jonouchi's lifeless body, and laying him down on the couch. After a final glance in his direction, Kaiba went up the stairs to the bathroom on the second floor. He raided the cabinets for some pills or ointments or _anything _he could use to ease Jonouchi's pain.

On his way back, he met Mokuba.

"What happened to him, Seto?" He wanted to know, his voice low as Jonouchi was in the room next door.

"His father… is very abusive." Kaiba decided not to sugar-coat it; it was better if Mokuba learnt the truth. "And Jonouchi blames himself for the things that happened to his family, when it is really his father's fault."

The black-haired little boy looked worried.

"Will he be all right?"

"Yes. I am sure he will," Kaiba said and smiled ever so slightly towards his little brother. It was true; he _knew _Jonouchi would be better over time. Especially now, when he had someone to help him. "Now go to bed, it is late already."

"Aww, no fair," Mokuba whined, but did what his brother told him to. Kaiba ruffled his little brother's hair before said person ran off up the stairs to his room. The brunet watched him leave, but was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts at a panicked shout.

"Kaiba?"

Jonouchi's voice was high-pitched; brimmed with worry. Kaiba hurried back into the living room and found Jonouchi wide awake, standing on his knees in the couch and desperately looking around as if to locate Kaiba. The brunet was close to him in a second; Jonouchi grabbed Kaiba's shoulders — almost painfully so — and looked him straight into the eyes. He was trembling slightly again.

"F-fuck, Kaiba, don't do that," he gasped. "I thought ya…I th-thought ya left me too."

"It's alright, I'm here," Kaiba whispered back and reached up to brush away a few strands of hair from Jonouchi's face. His normally so warm eyes were wide open and his pupils extremely small — he looked like he was scared out of his life. "What do you mean, 'left you too'?"

"Hond's not in town…n' I didn't want to…didn't want Yug' to see me like this…th-that's why I came 'ere." His eyes fluttered back and forth in examination of Kaiba's calm face.

The brunet felt a small pang of disappointment at Jonouchi's words – he hadn't been the blond's first choice. But then again, he couldn't really expect to be, not yet. And the fact that Jonouchi had come to him at all should be enough; what if he had just left and wandered around the streets the entire night instead?

Kaiba forced Jonouchi to sit down properly and to release his shoulders—the blond's hands fell down in his own lap instead, as if he was unsure of what to do with them.

"Where are you hurt?" Kaiba wanted to know. Jonouchi grimaced and clutched his stomach, cringing away from Kaiba a bit. The brunet gave him a displeased look. "Let me see."

No response.

"Jonouchi, let me see. Otherwise, I cannot help you."

The blond finally budged and pulled his shirt off, revealing his stomach and chest. He had several big bruises all over his abdomen and not too many cuts, but the ones he did have looked rather deep. Kaiba drew in a sharp breath at the sight and Jonouchi hid his eyes from the brunet. Kaiba reached out his hand but managed to stop himself before actually touching Jonouchi.

"May I?" he asked first and received a wordless nod from the blond as a response. Kaiba covered the last bit of space between his fingers and Jonouchi's stomach, and gently touched a bruise located just above his navel. Jonouchi's muscles twitched at the body contact, but other than that he didn't react. The brunet explored Jonouchi's soft skin for barely a moment before pulling away again, grabbing the ointment he had managed to find.

"This is probably going to sting," Kaiba said, and then reached for Jonouchi's abdomen again when said person looked up and met the brunet's eyes – his honey colored eyes were so cold, and Kaiba understood immediately – compared to what he had been through, this would be nothing. Kaiba's jaws shut tight, but he continued and gently rubbed some ointment onto Jonouchi's stomach. He was slow, and extremely careful; he really, _really _didn't want to cause any more pain. Jonouchi shivered under his hands and he could tell the blond was freezing.

As soon as Kaiba was done, he put away the ointment and threw the blanket over Jonouchi's shoulders again — but to his surprise, Jonouchi climbed up close to him again, resting his head on Kaiba's chest and winding his arms around the brunet's waist. Not that Kaiba really minded, and as soon as he had gotten over the initial shock, he put his arms around the blond again. He bent his head slightly and rested his chin on top of Jonouchi's head, even though his hair was still wet. Then he closed his eyes.

A few weeks ago they had been enemies. Now he was comforting the blond like he had never comforted anyone — except for Mokuba — and yet it felt completely natural. What really struck him was how Jonouchi barely had said a thing — and yet Kaiba had understood everything the moment their eyes met. Seeing Jonouchi standing there on his doorstep, beaten up and completely defenseless, had nearly broken his heart. Maybe it was because of Kaiba's childhood with Gozaburo he could understand how lonely the blond had to be. He had Mokuba — Jonouchi had Shizuka.

Having Jonouchi close like this — in his arms — felt so much better than it should have done. Kaiba had never been a physical person, seeing as the only one close to him was his little brother, but Jonouchi had managed to get so close to him — in more than one sense — in no time at all. He pulled his fingers through Jonouchi's hair a few more times and received a contented sigh as a response. Then Kaiba carefully turned his head and brushed his lips over Jonouchi's still damp hair. The blond didn't protest, and Kaiba gulped just a little.

"We should get going," Kaiba finally managed to say, his throat dry. Jonouchi grunted as a reply; apparently he was happy where he was. "Come on." He tugged at Jonouchi's clothes to make him get up, and it worked, but not immediately. They stood up and Kaiba turned around, starting to walk away.

"Wait!" Jonouchi panicked and practically attacked Kaiba, quickly grabbing the front of his shirt and hindering from walking away. The blanket fell off the blond's shoulders at the sudden movement and revealed his chest again. "I-I'm not… I mean, where… where will I go?"

Kaiba looked at him in confusion; the blond's eyes wide open in terror again, until he blinked and made the connection.

"Jonouchi, you are staying here tonight," he said; his voice stern. Jonouchi blinked too, and then visibly relaxed, his grip on Kaiba's shirt loosening but not disappearing completely. "Now come on." Kaiba had to gently pry Jonouchi's fingers away from himself, but took his hand and led him out from the living room and up the stairs. He stopped in front of the same room Jonouchi had been in the last time, and showed to the blond that it was alright, everything would be okay. He even smiled towards him.

But when he left Jonouchi alone in his room, he felt as if he left a piece of himself behind there too — he wanted to be with Jonouchi every single moment. He wanted to comfort him, make sure he was always happy. And he wanted to hold him again; oh, God how he wanted to hold him in his arms again.

Kaiba went to bed and tried to ignore the hand clutching around his heart — the dark pit he felt in his stomach. He couldn't close his eyes, because every time he did he saw Jonouchi's face right there in front of him. And it wasn't the face he would've liked to see — not the smiling, happy, carefree Jonouchi, but the crying, miserable, beaten up Jonouchi who was laying in the room next door. For the second time in several years — for the second time that day — Kaiba felt how his eyes began to water over and how a lump started to form in his throat.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but suddenly he was wide awake.

There was someone in his room — at first he thought it was Mokuba — but then the person climbed into his bed and he was a lot heavier than Mokuba. Jonouchi snuck in under Kaiba's covers and wounds his arms and legs around the brunet's body. He buried his face into Kaiba's shoulder, and Kaiba suddenly had his face full of Jonouchi's messy blond hair, but he wouldn't have minded for anything in the world. Kaiba held the blond and couldn't do anything but breathe for a while, marveling at how warm Jonouchi's body was and how soft his skin was and how lovely his hair smelled.

"I… I had a bad dream," Jonouchi whispered so quietly Kaiba could barely hear him. But the brunet gave him a gentle squeeze to show him that he had heard, and then they both drifted off into sleep, in a state of pure — albeit momentary — happiness.


	7. Waking up together

**A/N:** I think it was more than a week ago since I updated, sorry TT_TT I was internet-less during the weekend...  
You guys know I'm going to the Swedish convent Uppcon in about a month, right? If anyone else is going, I'd love to meet you! I'll be wearing my Judai-cosplay, and if you see me there feel free to hug me! X3

* * *

Kaiba frowned but didn't open his eyes. Then he suddenly felt someone move close to him — a weight disappearing from the mattress next to him — and in a split second, he was wide awake. He snapped opened his eyes just in time to see Jonouchi getting out of bed, his face turned away. Kaiba's hand immediately shot out and seized Jonouchi's wrist. Almost instantly, the brunet realized his grip was too strong and he relaxed his hand a bit, but definitely didn't let go.

Jonouchi had stopped, but his face was still hidden from Kaiba.

"Let me go," he said, his voice small. Kaiba's grip tightened again, practically by sheer instinct. "Ya can't keep me 'ere against ma will."

It took a moment for Kaiba to find his voice.

"Why?" he asked breathlessly. "Why do you want to leave?" Jonouchi didn't respond. Kaiba wasn't sure, but just maybe the blond was trembling under his hand. "Jonouchi…please stay. Please don't go back to your father. I cannot stand it if he hurts you again. I don't ever want to see you like that again." All of the things Kaiba said were true; he tried to show it through his voice but it was so hard — he wished the blond would just turn around to see his face, and see how honest he truly was.

And then Jonouchi actually did turn around. His eyes were red and his cheeks puffy — he had been crying again. Kaiba was surprised that hadn't woken him up, but his thoughts didn't get much further than that when he suddenly, truly _saw _Jonouchi's eyes. They were so dark; so filled with agony and sadness and hurt — the sight literally tore at Kaiba's heart.

"Why d'ya care?" Jonouchi whispered, his voice cracking. Kaiba waited for him to continue into an angry rant, like he usually did, but he never did. He simply looked at Kaiba with horribly cold eyes.

"I care because…b-because…" Oh, God, was he stuttering? But he could barely get the words out; barely muster enough strength to keep the eye contact with Jonouchi. "I care because I like you. I really like you." It sounded so corny when he said it and he almost regretted it immediately afterwards, but then he saw what it did to Jonouchi. The blond's face went blank, his body relaxed.

Kaiba managed to gather enough courage to gently tug at Jonouchi's wrist — it worked, and as the blond dropped down on the bed, Kaiba slowly sat up. They were close now, so very close. Their thighs were touching; Kaiba had let go of Jonouchi's wrist but caught his hand instead, and feeling those slender fingers around his own was enough to send a shiver down his spine. Kaiba didn't know what his own face looked like — Jonouchi still looked a bit confused and surprised, but there was something warmer shining through in his golden eyes and his mouth was slightly open. His lips looked so very inviting.

"You like me?" the blond wondered, barely above a whisper.

"I do." Was the surprisingly fast answer, but his voice was low too.

"How much?" Jonouchi wanted to know, pure fright flashing through his eyes for s split second.

"I want to protect you," Kaiba said, smiling just a little to encourage the blond. "I don't ever want to see you cry again. I know how strong you are, how _incredibly _strong you are, and seeing you like that just…just made me…" He didn't know the right word; he trailed off, but the message seemed to have gone through to the blond.

Jonouchi blushed at Kaiba's words — he actually _blushed _— but then he turned away his head slightly, breaking the eye contact, his grip on Kaiba's hand tightening a little.

"I-I dunno…_this_… n' we're not, I mean, I-I don't think I'm —" He was blabbering, stuttering, but his message got through to Kaiba too. "I'm scared." Jonouchi finally concluded, turning his head back to face Kaiba. He really did look scared, frightened out of his life actually.

"I know," Kaiba said. He was scared too; 'I know' was his way of admitting that, and he knew Jonouchi would understand. The blond bent his head a little, looking down at his and Kaiba's clasped hands. When he looked up again, a golden strand of hair fell down over his eyes, but he met Kaiba's eyes again anyway.

Both of them knew what would happen if the brunet reached up and brushed the hair away.

And Kaiba did.

His hand went from brushing away the strand to cupping Jonouchi's cheek, slowly rubbing circles on his skin. Jonouchi lifted his free hand and placed it at the nape of Kaiba's neck. The space between them lessened; their breaths sped up, their eyes fell shut. And then their lips met.

And it didn't matter worth a damn that only a few weeks ago this had been his sworn enemy, nor did the fact that it was another boy — Kaiba almost whimpered at the rush of emotions overflowing him. All that existed that moment was soft lips on even softer lips, naked skin, silk hair and irregular breaths. When Kaiba cautiously slid his tongue over Jonouchi's lower lip the blond let out a barely audible moan which sent a jolt straight to Kaiba's stomach. He longed to hear the sound again, but didn't want to frighten the blond by moving too fast — he broke away.

Jonouchi kept his eyes closed for a moment longer than Kaiba — his lips were slightly parted and his cheeks flustered — but then his eyelids fluttered and fully opened. His eyes were shining, almost literally _shining_, with emotion — happiness and joy, and even though there was a small amount of something more negative showing, there was definitely lust in there too. Kaiba smiled ever-so-slightly at the sight and let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Jonouchi smiled cautiously too, and when the brunet leaned forward again to rub the tips of their noses together that smile turned into a plain old silly grin.

They probably looked like a pair of idiots, sitting there grinning towards each other, but they didn't care. Even though Kaiba's whole body was still…humming, or something, in contentment, as the final wave of bliss started to disappear his brain started coming back online too. He had just kissed Jonouchi. Or Jonouchi had just kissed him. Which way was it? Did it matter? It felt like it should matter; if it was he who kissed Jonouchi then he couldn't be sure as to what the blond felt for him — if it was the other way around, well…

"I liked that," Jonouchi whispered — his breath running over Kaiba's lips. "I like you," he added, and before Kaiba could say anything the blond leaned forward again and covered Kaiba's lips with his own. Surprised at Jonouchi's boldness — even though he definitely didn't mind it — Kaiba kissed him back and let go of his hand, let go of his cheek, so he could wind his arms around Jonouchi's neck instead. The blond snuck his own arms around Kaiba's waist and they pressed their chests tightly together — gasping into each other's mouths when the body contact sent jolts of pleasure through their bodies. Kaiba even dared to gently nip at the blond's lower lip and drew a whimper from Jonouchi as he did.

When they finally parted they were out of breath and simply sat there panting for a moment with their arms still around each other, chuckling softly.

"Wha-what…" Jonouchi tried to speak but ended put laughing lightly instead. "Damn, how'd this happen?" He definitely didn't sound like he was complaining; he was just surprised and confused, but in a good way.

"I don't know," Kaiba said, and nuzzled Jonouchi's cheek as he placed a sweet kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Not that I mind." He really didn't, not even the slightest. Was this love? He wouldn't know; he hadn't known anything other than brotherly love up until now — and all he knew now was that he simply wanted to be as close to Jonouchi as possible, protect him, make him smile. And he could by simply kissing him.

"So we're… we're a couple now?" He didn't sound as happy anymore. Kaiba pulled away to be able to look him into his eyes and saw that those negative feelings had begun to well up again.

"Not if you don't want to. We can take it slow," Kaiba said carefully, and tried to show that he meant it using his eyes. His hand came up to rub soothing circles on Jonouchi's cheek again. "It's okay."

"Okay." Jonouchi breathed out, at least some of his worry disappearing from his eyes.

The long silence that followed was broken by Jonouchi's stomach growling loudly. Kaiba chuckled as the blond blushed furiously — much more than he had done when Kaiba had first confessed his feelings for him.

"Are you hungry?"

"I-I didn't have dinner las' night," Jonouchi confessed.

"Why didn't you say so?" Kaiba smiled and showed the blond that it was time to get out of bed. Both of them did — albeit a bit clumsily, since they had been sitting there for such a long time now. Jonouchi looked around as if in search of something, and then scratched the back of his head.

"I… I think my…I left my clothes in the other room."

"That's alright; you can borrow some of mine. Your own were torn, were they not? And we have practically the same size."

Jonouchi didn't say anything, which Kaiba took as a sign it was okay, so he searched through his closet and found a pair of old jeans and a shirt that looked like it would fit Jonouchi. The blond put them on while Kaiba dressed himself in the usual black pants and shirt, but he took neither his white coat nor any of the bracelets and belts he usually had. They moved down to the kitchen under silence even though Mokuba wasn't anywhere to be seen. But really, Mokuba overhearing was just an excuse to keep quiet — because what did they have to talk about, really? They barely knew each other; questions about each other's personal life was practically off limits — the only thing left was Duel Monsters, but Kaiba had the feeling that discussion would just end in a fight.

Jonouchi sat down by the table while Kaiba started moving around in the kitchen, preparing everything like he'd done so many times before.

"Dontcha have a maid or somethin'?" Jonouchi wanted to know.

"Well yes, but they all have the weekend off." He put a couple of bowls and a package of cereal on the table in front of Jonouchi. "Besides, knowing how to cook is very useful." He didn't get anything other than a hum from the blond as a response, and when he looked up he saw that Jonouchi was blankly looking out the window at the rain pouring down. "What's the matter?"

"…Nothin'."

Kaiba knew something was wrong but he wouldn't push the blond. If whatever it was kept bothering Jonouchi, sooner or later he would tell. The brunet just knew. He sat down opposite to Jonouchi and both of them started to eat — under silence again. It was starting to get a bit uncomfortable, at least for Kaiba, but then the blond suddenly chuckled. It wasn't a happy sound, however. Kaiba looked up at him in surprise and found that Jonouchi was poking around in his cereals with a rather dark look on his face.

"I wonder what…what dad would think, if he knew…his son's a fag." Jonouchi dropped the spoon with a _clink _and looked up to meet Kaiba's eyes. Kaiba stared at him for a moment — the blond's face completely blank but his eyes dark — before returning to his own breakfast.

"Don't say that," his voice was low.

"Well it's true, isn't it?" Jonouchi raised his voice. "If we both —"

"No, I meant; don't say that word. I hate it."

This seemed to throw Jonouchi off guard and he fell into a surprised silence. Well, it was true. Kaiba really did hate the word. If there was anything Gozaburo had beaten into his brain it was how wrong any kind of homosexuality was. No, if Seto wanted to continue the Kaiba heritage he had to find a suitable woman who could carry his children and maybe even help him with the company. But now, after that kiss, after those _feelings _— he couldn't care less about what gender or age or ethnicity or _anything _the other person was — as long as it made him happy and it made the other person happy.

Suddenly, he was snapped out of his thoughts as Mokuba came running and skidded to a stop right next to the table.

"Hi, Jonouchi! You feeling better?" he said and grabbed a toast from Kaiba's plate.

"H-hey, Mokuba…Uh yeah, I-I guess I am."

The blond exchanged a weird look with Kaiba.

"Well, I'm going to a friend's to give you two some time alone," the little boy chirped happily and stuffed half of the toast into his mouth at the same time. "Chee hyou lathee!" he mumbled thickly and then he was off again. They could hear the front door slam behind him as he disappeared.

Kaiba and Jonouchi stared after him before turning towards each other and staring some more. Jonouchi was the first one to break the silence.

"Does… does he _know_?" he asked incredulously.

"I… I think he does," Kaiba replied with the same tone. Then both of them realized how stupid they looked sitting there staring at each other like a pair of idiots and they both started laughing, even though Kaiba had a bit more control over himself. "I don't know when he got so smart, or mischievous for that matter," Kaiba said, still chuckling.

"Ya shouldn't be so surprised, he's _yer _little brother after all."

"Heh. Well, thanks I guess."

They smiled towards each other and went back to their breakfasts, but the silence between them was more comfortable now, almost pleasant. Jonouchi really was a warm person — Kaiba could feel his contentment radiating off him like rays from a sun, warming up the brunet as well. He felt like that sometimes around Mokuba too, but Jonouchi was constantly like that when he was truly happy. Eventually, they finished eating and Kaiba started putting away the dishes. Jonouchi was still sitting at the table, watching the brunet move around in the kitchen.

"So what now?" he asked.

Kaiba put away the final plate and then turned around towards the blond, leaning against the counter. He watched Jonouchi for a moment. He couldn't quite decipher what the blond really wanted to ask with his question, but he decided to say all those things he really shouldn't have to say; Jonouchi already knew everything. But maybe he wanted a verbal confirmation.

"You can stay here for however long as you would like. You can go now, if you want to, or stay, "_Which is what _I _want you to do_, he added silently in his mind but didn't say it aloud as he didn't want to scare the blond. "I will help you with your father, if you want me to. I will help you with anything, just as long as you give me permission. I —" He was on the verge of saying something cheesy along the lines of '_I would do anything for you_' but managed to shut his mouth just in time. It was way, way too soon for that.

Jonouchi's eyes widened at the final sentence, and then he turned away his head, smiling slightly. Kaiba took it as a good sign and smiled a little too, crossing his arms.

"I'd… I'd like to stay 'ere," Jonouchi admitted and turned back to meet Kaiba's eyes. "For a while at least."

Without waiting for a response he stood up and walked over to a couch standing turned towards the giant windows. He dropped down on it with a contented sigh. Kaiba waited a beat before joining him. He didn't know what the blond meant by 'a while'; if it was minutes, hours, days or weeks. For the moment he decided that it didn't matter and that he would be as close to Jonouchi as possible for as long as possible. He sat down next to him and the blond immediately snuggled up close to him, his head resting on Kaiba's chest and the brunet's arms around him.

They sat like that for a while, watching and listening to the rain falling down outside the window and turning Kaiba's garden into a grey blur.

"I barely know anything about you," Kaiba finally said; his voice low since he didn't want to disturb the mood — also since he wasn't entirely sure Jonouchi was still awake.

"An' I don't know anythin' 'bout ya. But we can fix that," Jonouchi murmured into his chest. "What's yer favorite color?"

"Blue," Kaiba said after pondering for a moment. "You?"

"…I think I like blue too."


	8. Dear you

**A/N:** The opening paragraph was inspired by a line in one of Asheru's songs called 'Dear you'. I suppose it's kind of odd to call a hip hop song 'beautiful', but I really think it is ^^ The line goes; "Every night close the same way the day open; we lay nose to nose, just to touch, and I love you so much". So sweet :3

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Jonouchi didn't know how it was possible.

How could Kaiba's normally so very stern and cold face be so completely relaxed in sleep? God, he was _beautiful_; and that was a word Jonouchi very rarely used about anyone, much less about another man. Kaiba's chocolate hair fell down over his face, his lips were a little parted, and Jonouchi could feel his breath over his own lips; his thick eyelashes fluttered over his cheeks in his sleep — maybe he was dreaming? They lay nose to nose, and Kaiba's arms were around Jonouchi and the other way around; their legs all tangled up. If Jonouchi moved even the slightest, soft skin would brush against his own and send sparks of pleasure through his body.

It was nothing short of amazing.

Jonouchi leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Kaiba's lips. The brunet's eyes fluttered and then he opened them fully — at first he looked surprised, but then he saw Jonouchi's smiling face only inches from his own and gave him a tiny smile back. Jonouchi vaguely wondered about what it would feel like to be woken up by a kiss, and hoped Kaiba would do that to him sometime. Then he suddenly remembered something that made his eyes widen so fast, he could see Kaiba's face grow paler too.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, sitting straight up in a split second. Kaiba sat bolt upright too and grabbed Jonouchi's shoulders, shaking him slightly and meeting his frightened eyes.

"Jonouchi, what's wrong?" he practically shouted, all of his worry shining through his normally cold blue eyes. "Jonouchi!" Said person grabbed Kaiba's shoulders too.

"Damnit, Kaib', we have fuckin' school today!" This didn't quite receive the response he had been expecting from the brunet — Kaiba stared at him for a moment before closing his eyes and letting out a breath. Then he fell backwards in the bed again, covering his face with his arm. Jonouchi suddenly heard a muffled chuckle.

"For the love of Ra, Jonouchi, don't scare me like that," Kaiba said, and removed his arm again to look up at Jonouchi. The blond just stared back at him — didn't Kaiba care about school? How were they supposed to get there — together? Or would Kaiba take his limousine and Jonouchi walk there? Maybe Kaiba could give him a ride but drop him off a few blocks away, so he could walk the rest of the way? A million thoughts and ideas ran through his head so fast they didn't even make sense to Jonouchi himself.

But Kaiba grabbed Jonouchi's arms and pulled him down. Jonouchi resisted at first — he didn't know what time it was but they were probably already late — but relaxed as he felt how warm Kaiba's body was underneath his own. He settled his head against Kaiba's chest and felt how the brunet's arms wound their way around his waist.

"My grades are good enough for me to afford to miss one day. And I don't suppose you really care?" Kaiba said with a low voice; his chest humming underneath Jonouchi's ear.

Jonouchi's eyes widened, but all he could really see from where he was laying was Kaiba's chin and jawline, and his lips, which were curled up in a small smile.

"Really?"

"Really."

Jonouchi thought about it for a moment and decided he really didn't care too much about school — as long as he passed most of his subjects he would be happy. And it wasn't as if he hadn't skipped school earlier; it was just that he had never done it with someone else, not even Honda. But everything had its first time. Jonouchi stretched up and placed a kiss on Kaiba's jaw-line.

"Thank you," the blond murmured, but then another thought immediately popped into his head. "What 'bout Mokuba?"

"What about him?"

"Yeah, who's gonna take him ta school?"

"My servants are here again, since it is Monday. All I have to do is make a quick call, and they will drive him." Kaiba reached for the nightstand and the phone laying there, calling someone using speed-dial. "Yes, I will be staying home today. Could you take Mokuba to school? Thank you." As he talked Jonouchi looked up at him, simply watching him for a moment. But then he got bored, and so reached up and started playing with Kaiba's hair. "And I… I have a guest, but I will be making… breakfast for myself. Please do… Thank you." He hung up and put away the phone before looking down on Jonouchi, who smiled up at him and continued twirling the brunet's hair around his fingers. "That is extremely distracting. I think you confused my secretary a bit."

Jonouchi snickered in almost childlike delight, but definitely didn't stop doing it. If it bothered Kaiba, he would _never _stop doing it. Kaiba huffed at him but closed his eyes and seemed to enjoy feeling Jonouchi's fingers tangle their way further into his hair. The blond on the other hand could feel Kaiba's hand on his back, slowly tracing patterns over his bare skin. Jonouchi sighed in contentment and closed his eyes, but didn't stop playing with Kaiba's brown locks.

"I have never been this close to anyone," Kaiba murmured after a while. Jonouchi could see that; the young CEO probably had a couple of thousands of fangirls, but anyone actually worthy of his attention? And then Jonouchi realized _he _was worthy of Kaiba's attention — and a silly smile spread across his face.

"Me neither," Jonouchi admitted — if Kaiba was going to be completely honest then of course he would be too. "Well, I have dated a few girls, but ya know…we never got this far."

"I haven't."

Jonouchi blinked a little and looked up at Kaiba; his eyes were open but he was staring at the ceiling. He looked thoughtful. Wait, did the brunet really mean what Jonouchi thought he meant? That… that he was…

"Wh- wait, are ya sayin'…?"

Kaiba looked down on him, his blue eyes glimmering and the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Yes, Jonouchi, that was my first kiss."

Jonouchi couldn't do anything but stare. Okay, so he got how Kaiba didn't have time to date girls or go out or…be a normal teenager, seeing as he owned a multi-million company, but still. This was ridiculous. Even Jonouchi had kissed a few girls over the years, even though they never got any further than that. This meant that Jonouchi had taken Kaiba's first kiss — or Kaiba had given it to him. Who was it that had kissed whom? He couldn't remember, or actually, now that he thought back, he hadn't been sure back then either.

Kaiba was still watching him with the same expression, and Jonouchi realized he had been staring; that his mouth was hanging open. He snapped it shut and pulled himself up from Kaiba's grip — now hovering above him with one hand on either side of his head. Kaiba looked a bit surprised but still had the same crooked smile.

"Shit, Kaiba, I didn't know. I'm sorry," Jonouchi whispered. He looked down at the brunet in terror — what if he really had taken something Kaiba didn't want to lose? And Jonouchi remembered his first kiss — God, he had loved that girl, even though neither of them had been very old.

"There is nothing to apologize about," Kaiba said and reached up, lightly brushing his fingertips over Jonouchi's cheek and sending shivers down the blond's spine. "It's just a kiss, and it's not like I regret it."

"But yer first kiss is supposed ta be special!"

"It was special. Trust me." And with those words he snuck his arms around Jonouchi's neck and pulled the blond down again, closing his eyes as he did. Jonouchi gave in and bent down — kissing Kaiba again. Kaiba's tongue went out and questioningly flicked over Jonouchi's lower lip — the blond parted his lips and allowed Kaiba in. The sensation made him moan — Kaiba was sliding their tongues together and they lay half-naked together in bed and were skipping school and it should've felt so _wrong_, but it didn't. It felt pretty damn amazing. When Jonouchi pulled away again he was slightly light-headed and his chest was heaving up and down.

"Yer damn good fer a newbie," he managed to get out, and could feel Kaiba chuckle quietly underneath him.

"Practice makes perfect," Kaiba simply said and with a surprised yelp, Jonouchi suddenly found himself on his back, the brunet now hovering above him. Jonouchi caught a hint of a smile — or was it a smirk? — before Kaiba bent down and kissed him again. The brunet then broke away from his lips and started mouthing along Jonouchi's law-line.

Now that was definitely new. Had that _really _been Kaiba's first kiss? He seemed to know exactly what to do to make Jonouchi squirm under him – which was exactly what the blond was doing. Kaiba continued down Jonouchi neck and licked along his collar-bone, drawing a surprised but pleased gasp from Jonouchi. The blond himself couldn't do anything but shakily try to keep his hands on Kaiba's shoulders as the brunet moved further and further down, gently kissing his scars and moving his lips over the bruises on his stomach. But when Kaiba placed a kiss just below his navel, Jonouchi squirmed again and suddenly became very aware of how his body was starting to react to Kaiba's touch.

"K-Kaib', th-that's…that's too much, I-I —"

Kaiba immediately understood and came right back up to Jonouchi's lips — giving him a soft kiss before settling next to and half on top of him, throwing an arm around him. Jonouchi's breath was still a bit faster than normally and he could tell the brunet was watching him but didn't take his own eyes off the ceiling. He was a bit frightened he had reacted to strongly on Kaiba's touch, but what really made him unsure was the question as to if he would have reacted equally to someone else's touch. After all, even though he had dated a few girls none of them ever came _close _to this far. He was still a virgin, albeit a bit embarrassed to admit it. But then again, Kaiba was a virgin too. How in the world could he be so confident despite being so inexperienced?

"I don't understand you," Jonouchi voiced his inner musings.

"To be perfectly fair, I don't understand you either." The answer was immediate; almost as if Kaiba had been thinking about the same thing. Jonouchi turned his head to be able to look Kaiba into his eyes and found that the brunet was still watching him, with an unreadable expression. They looked at each other for a beat — Jonouchi was trying to see something, _anything_, in those deep blue eyes and sensed that Kaiba was probably doing the same towards him, but he didn't particularly care.

"Come on. I gotta try somethin'," Jonouchi finally said and got out of bed, leaving a slightly surprised Kaiba behind him. The blond looked around for something to put on and heard Kaiba getting out of bed too behind him. After both of them managed to find some clothes, Jonouchi took Kaiba's hand and led him out of the bedroom without a word. The blond snickered at his own secret and led the oddly quiet Kaiba through the mansion and down to the front door, to the hallway.

But what he and Kaiba saw in the mirror took the breath away from the blond and made his knees weak. He could feel the brunet tighten his grip on his hand almost painfully, but he could've been a thousand miles away.

The threads running between their bodies weren't torn anymore — all of them were healed up — but they were tangled up and in knots, much worse than previously. It looked even worse than the very first time they saw them, back in the Mirror House. The worst part was that the glow which had previously surrounded the threads was fading, giving the impression that they were very sick, or dying.

Jonouchi couldn't stand looking at their reflection for more than a few seconds and turned towards Kaiba, hiding his face in the taller teen's shoulder. How was it possible? How could the threads be worse than before? Did that mean their relationship was worse too? But Jonouchi was truly starting to develop feelings for Kaiba, and even though he wasn't one hundred percent sure, he was still fairly certain Kaiba had feelings for him to. Why else would he help him the way he had? Held him the way he had?

Jonouchi felt a sob rise in his chest and looked up at Kaiba with watery eyes – the brunet's gaze was locked at their reflections and even though his eyes were just a bit wider than before he looked completely blank.

"K-Kaiba?" Jonouchi whimpered and grasped at Kaiba's shirt. The brunet didn't even stir. "Seto?" Jonouchi said quietly and finally got Kaiba's attention – he turned his head and looked down at the blond.

A few weeks ago Jonouchi would have said Kaiba's expression was entirely neutral. Now he saw something deep inside those cold blue eyes that sent his stomach down into a dark pit of worry.


	9. Cracks in the mirror

**A/N:** It was like, two weeks ago I uploaded a new chapter, I'm sorrrryyyyy *kicks herself in the butt* I wish I had a good reason but I really don't xD

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"I don't understand you."

"To be perfectly fair, I don't understand you either," The words slipped out of Kaiba's mouth before he even had a chance to think more about them, but the second he heard the sentence spoken by himself he realized how true it was. And with that realization came the horrible terror caused by the true meaning behind the words; he didn't understand Jonouchi, and the blond didn't understand him.

It was here the usual Kaiba-manner kicked in. Kaiba himself almost wished it hadn't, but sometimes when he needed to think about things his brain did that while the auto-pilot took control over the body. He and Jonouchi were still lying in bed together, Kaiba half on top of Jonouchi and the blond suddenly looked down on Kaiba, meeting his eyes. Kaiba didn't say anything, _couldn't_ say anything.

How was it possible? How could he lo– _like_ the blond so much despite them being so different? How would they ever be able to get along without physically fighting or practically tearing each other's' throats out? They would just end up hurting each other, probably both physically and emotionally. How could they ever tell their friends? Or correction: how could Jonouchi ever tell his friends and Kaiba tell Mokuba (in case he didn't already know, which he probably did). They were enemies in everyone's eyes but their own, and they had hated each other for as long as anyone could remember.

"Come on, I gotta try somethin'," Jonouchi finally said but Kaiba barely heard him. It took the brunet a moment to even realize that Jonouchi was gone and had gotten out of bed, and it took him yet another moment to actually follow.

The blond was rummaging around the room in search for something to put on, and Kaiba did the same, except he wasn't technically rummaging since he knew where everything was. Kaiba dressed himself but wasn't really aware of what he was doing. His mind was still stuck on his and Jonouchi's differences.

Kaiba had grown up at an orphanage with no one there to support him besides Mokuba, and they had to survive on their own there. Then Gozaburo had adopted them and Kaiba had gotten a much worse life, and much better in another way. The food was better, the bed softer, the clothes better quality… but it came with a prize. Kaiba had to study from morning to night, never resting and practically never meeting Mokuba. Eventually he had grown tired of it and broken free.

Jonouchi, however… Jonouchi's family had probably been happy when he and his sister were smaller. They must've still had a relatively normal childhood; their whole family together. Kaiba tried to remember what it said in the files he found on Jonouchi's life. The blond had been… 10? when his family split and he and Shizuka had to grow up apart.

Then again, Kaiba had been ten years old when Gozaburo adopted him and Mokuba. But it still wasn't the same! And in a way, Kaiba had overcome his difficulties and hinders while Jonouchi still had his: his father. So there was more reason to feel sorry for him, and to help him.

Kaiba was vaguely aware that Jonouchi was snickering as he led him through his own house, but he couldn't see anything in the situation worth laughing at. Didn't Jonouchi see their differences? Didn't he care?

And then yet another horrible thought struck Kaiba: _Why_ did Jonouchi like him? The thought was dreadful enough for Kaiba's step to falter slightly, but he caught his balance before Jonouchi noticed anything was wrong.

When Kaiba was young, Gozaburo had taught him that when he got older, he had to marry a woman who could continue the Kaiba heritage. But he had to watch out for the women who only wanted him for his money; of course it would be impossible to find someone who wasn't the slightest bit interested, but still. Love didn't really play a big part, just as long as she came from a relatively wealthy family.

What if Jonouchi only wanted Kaiba for his money? Kaiba knew how poor Jonouchi was; Jonouchi knew how much money Kaiba had. Could… could Jonouchi really be like that? Be that _superficial_? Kaiba didn't know; he didn't know the blond and that was the whole problem.

It wasn't until he suddenly found himself in front of the mirror again that Kaiba actually became aware of the things around him. Kaiba unconsciously tightened his grip on Jonouchi's hand to the point where it must've hurt, but he could feel the blond's body trembling as if he was about to fall over at any second.

All of the threads running between their bodies were healed up, but now practically all of them were tangled up and in knots instead. It looked much worse than the first time they had seen them, back in the Mirror House several weeks ago. Before, the threads had a glow around them, a steady warm yellow light which surrounded them at all times – now that glow was fading. It looked as if the threads – or the bond – were sick, or dying.

Kaiba's jaws tightened and Jonouchi suddenly turned away from the mirror and buried his face in Kaiba's shoulder, hiding his face completely. The blond was still shaking, but Kaiba didn't have the presence to put his arms around him and comfort him. He didn't know if he would, even if he could.

This proved it. The threads… _dying_(even though he didn't like to use that word) like that couldn't be his fault. It had to be Jonouchi's fault – the brunet liked him for all the right reasons, but Jonouchi was probably just doing everything he had done out of pure egoism. He wanted Kaiba's money, his wealth, and did everything he could in order to get that.

"Kaiba?" Jonouchi was calling out his name, but the brunet couldn't move. In a way he didn't want to – he didn't want to face the blond, afraid of what he might see in his eyes. "Seto?" Jonouchi whimpered, and Kaiba drew in a breath as he heard his first name being used by the blond – he definitely hadn't given him permission to do so.

But when Kaiba looked down he saw the pure terror in the blond's honey colored eyes and felt a sting at his heart. Jonouchi looked about the same way he felt right now, and he suddenly grasped harder at Kaiba's shirt.

"Please… p-please say somethin'… Kaiba…" Jonouchi practically gasped. He must've realized he overstepped his boundaries and had gone back to the brunet's last name.

Finally, Kaiba managed to gain enough control of his own body to actually do something; he put his arms around Jonouchi's trembling body and pulled him close. The blond sniffled and buried his face into Kaiba's shoulder again, tightening his grip around the brunet's waist, but Kaiba couldn't relax. He still had his eyes open and he was still looking into the mirror, desperately trying to see some sort of change. He didn't get one, though; the threads were still tied up in knots and the glow was still fading. Kaiba gritted his teeth and pushed Jonouchi away. The blond looked up at him with confusion and tears in his eyes.

"Jonouchi, listen to me. I think… it would be for the best if you left now." Kaiba had to force the words out but it did feel better once he had said it, despite the sheer terror written over Jonouchi's face.

"N-no… p-please don't… don't make me…" the blond was gripping tighter onto Kaiba's shirt again, practically clinging and refusing to let go.

"It's for the best," Kaiba forced himself to say. He hated the expression on Jonouchi's face – hated the pure helplessness, the fright, the _love_. "You have to trust me. Don't you trust me? I don't want you to –" But then he gulped and trailed off, because Jonouchi had started to nod violently.

"I do. I do believe ya. Everythin's gonna be okay, right?"

"Yes. Yes, of course." Kaiba's hands came up to hold Jonouchi's face in place while he bent down to kiss the blond right on the mouth. He could feel Jonouchi's lips curl up into a small smile even though tears were still trailing down his cheeks. "Everything is going to be okay."

Kaiba reached past the blond to open the door and gently pushed him in that direction. Before he managed to get him out completely, Jonouchi stood up on his toes and kissed Kaiba's cheek. Then he threw his arms around Kaiba's neck and hugged him tight, tight. The brunet had his nose buried in Jonouchi's hair, and even though it obviously was a couple of days since the last time he showered Kaiba loved the smell. Actually, he loved how Jonouchi's body fit against his own, and he loved how the blond was just a little shorter so he had to stand on the tip of his toes, and how his body was slender yet muscular and how he –

But then Jonouchi loosened his grip and backed away from Kaiba.

"Say it again," he said; his voice low and hoarse from fighting not to cry.

"Everything is going to be okay."

Jonouchi gave up a weak smile, but his cheeks were still wet, and backed a few steps more. Kaiba reached out, grabbed the door-knob and shut the door – Kaiba himself was inside, Jonouchi was outside.

The brunet stared at the door, unable to believe what he had just done.

He had pushed Jonouchi away.

_He had pushed Jonouchi away._

He had pushed Jonouchi away, but he had a damn good reason. His head spun as he turned his back against the door and sunk down against it – sitting on the floor to be able to make the world stop spinning. His breath was faster than normal too – and he drew several shaky breaths, trying to calm down.

Why was he feeling so bad all of a sudden? Not only physically, but mentally as well. It was like he had a deep hole, a wound, in his chest and it hurt like hell, making it harder to breathe. He sat on the floor for several minutes, resting his head in his hands, until he finally He HHegave up a humorless chuckle and dropped his head backwards, staring at the ceiling. It was guilt – it was guilt he was feeling and he felt stupid for not realizing it earlier, but honestly, how could he? Had he ever had a reason for feeling guilty before?

But why was he feeling guilty? He shouldn't be – because all of this was Jonouchi's fault. It really was. Jonouchi didn't really like him; Kaiba was being fooled. The blond was only staying with him for the money, or…_something_, and Kaiba had every right to push him away. Why would he otherwise like him? If Kaiba had been Jonouchi, he wouldn't like him. It was a sad thought – but it was true.

Kaiba wasn't quite sure how it happened but several minutes or hours later – he couldn't really tell because his body had shut off while his mind twisted and turned all the questions he hadn't even thought about before Jonouchi appeared – he found himself sitting in the couch in the kitchen. It was the same one he and Jonouchi sat in nothing but a day earlier, watching the rain together.

Now he was all alone, but what had woken him up from his inner musings was the sound of the front door slamming shut. At first he thought it was Jonouchi and felt his stomach soar away in pure bliss before remembering what he had done and realizing that the blond would _never_ come back on his own. Instead, Mokuba was suddenly standing in front of him with a suspicious look on his face. He dropped his back-pack on the floor before looking around, as if he was searching for something.

"Where's Jou?" he wanted to know.

Kaiba didn't answer – he couldn't. Not in front of Mokuba's completely innocent face and his big eyes. Instead he simply looked at his little brother, his face completely blank. But of course the little black-haired boy could read him like a book.

"Seto… what did you do?" when he didn't get a reply he raised his voice a bit. "What did you _do_?"

"I –"

"Where is he?"

"… He went home."

Mokuba lowered his voice before replying. "Did he go home… or did you _make_ him go home?"

Kaiba knew his silence was enough to answer the question and dropped his head so he didn't have to see the disappointed look on Mokuba's face – but he wasn't fast enough. His brother sighed and rubbed his forehead in a way that made Kaiba think that Mokuba simply was too old for his own good. Then Kaiba tensed up a little as Mokuba dropped down right next to him on the couch with another sigh.

"I don't know what happened between you and him… but I think he likes you. Doesn't he?" Kaiba could tell Mokuba was watching him but didn't move a muscle. "And you like him too, right?"

Kaiba stared at his hands and desperately tried to stop himself from fiddling. Truth was he didn't _know_ what he felt for the blond – not anymore. At first, a long time ago, it was more or less annoyed indifference, replaced by some sort of annoyed, well-hidden respect, followed by an annoyed fascination and then not so much annoyed… well, attraction. But now…? Now he felt as if he couldn't trust Jonouchi; he couldn't trust the reason the blond obviously liked him. Or actually… he had never gotten a reason.

'_I like you.'_

This was all he had ever gotten from Jonouchi. His eyes widened as he realized this.

"… listening to me?" Mokuba's voice finally reached through to him.

"Wh-what?"

"I said, you _do_ like him. You can't hide it from me; I'm your little brother!" He raised his voice a bit but immediately calmed down again. "Now, what I want to know is: why did you push him away? He _likes_ you, Seto. And to be perfectly honest, he's the first one in quite a while!"

"But _why_…?" Kaiba finally managed to get out. He raised his head and turned to face Mokuba, who stared at him. Then the black-haired boy closed his eyes with yet another sigh. When he opened them again he looked even more tired than before.

"Is _that_ what this is about?"

Kaiba stared at him.


	10. NoReflection

**A/N:** I have to thank Katlynn for betaing a lot more often! She's amazing! ;o;

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Jonouchi stared at the closed door in front of him without being able to move. He knew he should – get off Kaiba's property as soon as possible and just get out of there. But at the moment he couldn't move a muscle; he was too shocked.

He couldn't believe what had happened.

He had spent the past one and a half days at Kaiba's place – he had come there late at night, after fleeing from his own father's beating, and Kaiba had taken him in. He had treated his wounds, held him, and even let him sleep with him when Jonouchi couldn't on his own because of the nightmares. And then there had been the kiss.

Jonouchi reached up to touch his lips – it was as if he could still feel Kaiba's lips against his own. It was a bitter-sweet memory; sure, it had been amazing at the moment but now that was all gone.

He was sure Kaiba liked him, or at least, he had been sure. Now he didn't know. And in a way, he didn't know what he felt for the brunet either – how could he like someone who pushed you away so easily? But he couldn't forget everything Kaiba had done for him; saved him from his father, taken care of him, held him…

The blond felt tears well up in his eyes but then drew in a startled breath as he heard a muffled sound on the other side of the door. Shit, he really had to get out of there. Tearing his eyes away from the door, he turned around on the spot and started walking away – slowly at first but then he started jogging, and then running.

He ran for quite a while without really being aware of where he was going; tears threatening to start rolling down his cheeks at any second. He attracted quite a bit of attention, but wasn't aware of that either; when he ran across the streets cars skidded to a stop and people yelled at him. People stopped and stared at him as he ran by, but he continued running until he was completely out of breath.

Then he sat down at a bench near a bus stop, trying to catch his breath. He angered a few bus-drivers, who stopped there since they thought he was going to take the bus, but he didn't care and ignored them.

Goddamnit, why did it always turn out like this? Why did he always run away as soon as things got hard? He should've stayed there, at Kaiba's place, and demanded an explanation. He should've stayed there and demanded an explanation and he shouldn't have left until he got one. He should've… should've…

Jonouchi gulped and stared at his hands.

He was too scared. He was too scared, and too weak. He couldn't have stayed there and demanded an explanation – he couldn't stand looking into Kaiba's eyes when they were cold like that, not after seeing them filled with joy and happiness and maybe even lust.

It was like, he had been happy with their relationship when they were nothing but enemies, fighting and insulting each other all the time – but after being so close to Kaiba, albeit for nothing but days, he couldn't possibly go back to the way it had been and still be happy. He wanted more now; he wanted all of it; he wanted… Kaiba, he realized.

Jonouchi looked up and into the window of a store across the street – he saw a young blond man sitting with his back slouched and looking as if he wasn't far from crying. There was no protective, slightly taller brunet standing next to him, no threads; no bond. Jonouchi realized that in the past couple of weeks he had rarely seen himself in the mirror when Kaiba wasn't there – and now he looked so lonely. It was just the same as their relation – after seeing them together in the mirror there was no way he could go back to being all alone.

Because he realized that he was – he was all alone. Of course he still had Honda, Yugi, Anzu… but it seemed as if they wouldn't understand in the same way – and of course they wouldn't, since they didn't have the bond. They would always be nothing but friends. He had Shizuka too, but he rarely ever saw her, and she was his _sister_.

Jonouchi felt the lump starting to come back deep down in his throat and dropped his head down. He rubbed his eyes and ruffled his hair, drawing several shaky breaths.

He didn't want to cry because of Kaiba – even though he already had. When he had woken up in Kaiba's arms a day ago he had at first thought it was nothing but a dream, but he had soon realized that it was happening for real. The brunet had his arms around him, holding him close in a protective way, and their lips had been so close; Kaiba's breath invitingly running over Jonouchi's lips. He looked so peaceful in sleep, so completely different from the cold CEO Jonouchi thought he knew. And then the blond had been hit with so many conflicting emotions at the same time he didn't know what to do with himself.

He remembered that a part of him wanted to jerk away and get out of bed, get out of there as soon as possible; a part of him wanted to lean closer and claim those lips without caring what Kaiba would do; and one part of him wanted to lay there in perfect harmony until the brunet woke up and either ruined it all or made it even more perfect by kissing him. But before Kaiba managed to wake up, Jonouchi had started crying in desperate helplessness, and then he had actually gotten out of bed.

It wasn't until then Kaiba had woken up.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Jonouchi was snapped out of his thoughts and he jerked his head up so quickly he seemed to scare the girl who had asked the question. She had long black hair and dark eyes; Jonouchi vaguely recognized her but couldn't quite place her.

"You do go to Domino High, right?" she said, a bit unsure.

"Yeah. No, yeah, I'm alright," Jonouchi said but wasn't really aware of what he was saying.

"You sure? Because you look kind of –"

"I'm fine, alright?"

"Jeez, sorry for caring," she said, obviously offended, but she turned around and started walking away. Jonouchi was on the verge of calling her back, but then realized – why in the world would he do that? Sure she seemed to care, but it wasn't like they knew each other despite obviously going to the same school.

He let it drop with a sigh. Then he realized he probably did look pretty miserable sitting there all alone, and probably a bit suspicious too. He groaned and stood up, looking around for a moment. It had been morning when he left Kaiba's house – now it had to be sometime after lunch.

The moment he thought that his stomach rumbled – he hadn't even had breakfast. But then he bit his lip – where would he go? He could definitely not go to Kaiba; going home didn't seem like the best idea either. He didn't know in which state his father would be, but that should be a reason to go back there – to see if his father was still mad, or conscious for that matter… He had to take care of him. Then again, he could go to Yugi's, to the game shop. The reason he hadn't gone there after his father beat him was because he didn't want Yugi to see him like that, but now it should be alright.

Jonouchi sighed again and started walking, but not towards the game shop. He decided to go home, because he really did have to check how his father was doing.

Somewhere deep inside Jonouchi knew that it was wrong for a child to look after his father, and that he should probably get some help somewhere… but he always chose not to think about things like that. He did things the way he always had and it worked; he didn't need anyone's help. Although… Kaiba had offered his help. But of course that offer was off now that… they weren't a couple anymore?

Had they ever been a couple? Jonouchi remembered how he had been afraid of saying it out loud; afraid to confirm whatever it was that was going on between him and Kaiba. But Kaiba… Kaiba had said that they didn't have to be a couple if Jonouchi didn't want to. The blond didn't want to back then – it was too scary and new and different – but only hours later, when Kaiba opened up more and more to him, he had started to think more about it again. He was too shy to say anything, though, still a bit afraid that Kaiba would push him away.

And what do you know? He had!

Jonouchi smiled bitterly to himself as he walked through the park, kicking a pebble in front of himself. He didn't want to hate Kaiba, not even after all that had happened. Because before the brunet decided to become a total jerk again he had actually been really kind and helping towards Jonouchi. But it was still hard trying not to hate him.

Before he knew it, Jonouchi was standing in front of his own apartment. He could barely even remember going up the stairs, he had been so lost in thought, but now he was there. It was eerily quiet in the entire building, almost as if everyone waited for something to happen. Jonouchi didn't want to know what it was that they were waiting for since he had an unsettling feeling it had something to do with himself – he opened the door, which was unlocked.

When he stepped inside he was hit by the usual smell of alcohol and something more undefined but definitely not healthy. The floor was covered in different kind of garbage – there was everything from piles of clothes, old bottles, old food, and things that had laid there for such a long time they became unrecognizable. He couldn't believe he had let Kaiba seen this.

He stepped over the pile of envelopes and news-papers lying close to the door before quietly calling out;

"Dad?" He didn't get a response and dared to take a few more steps into the apartment. "Ya home?"

The apartment looked exactly the way he had left it two days ago, not that he really had been expecting anything else. Then he suddenly heard a sound from the living-room and froze. He barely even dared to breathe for a moment but then he realized what kind of sound it had been – snoring.

Going out into the living-room he found his father lying on the couch with a bottle in his hand; the TV on but showing nothing but static. Jonouchi let out a breath in relief and turned off the TV before going into his own room instead.

It didn't look as if his father had been in there during the time when he was still mad; of course he could have cleaned up after himself but Jonouchi honestly didn't think his father was smart enough – or had the presence enough – to do that. Jonouchi's deck was still lying on the nightstand, along with the picture of him and his sister. If he hadn't just run out of the apartment he would've taken them along, but at the moment he had been more concerned about getting as far away as possible.

He picked them both up, looking through his deck and smiling fondly towards the happy girl in the picture. Then he sighed, putting them down again and walking out to the kitchen.

Now came the hard work of cleaning up the apartment at least somewhat. Jonouchi did it the same way he always had – first he went around and picked up everything laying on the floor, sorting out what they could keep and what needed to be thrown away. Then he took another round around the apartment, moving everything that wasn't where it was supposed to be; his father often threw things around himself when he got mad. Finally, the blond made the dishes, and cleaned up in the kitchen. Afterwards it looked at least a little better.

It wasn't until then he allowed himself to have something to eat, and now the clock had to be at least around dinner-time. He knew it was bad for him to eat so seldom and so little, but – and even though it made things worse – he was used to it. They barely had any food in the fridge, but he ate what he could find.

The blond thought about whether he should go to school the following day or not. Of course he had to, but if Kaiba had decided to go as well… He really didn't feel like bumping into the brunet completely unprepared, and he wasn't quite sure just how he would react when he saw Kaiba. He didn't feel like falling on his knees and beg him to take him back in front of his friends – and he couldn't say for sure that he wouldn't do that.

Kaiba had said that everything was going to be okay.

Okay for whom? Kaiba himself? Okay in the sense that he could leave Jonouchi and be perfectly happy with it, while the blond could die of misery for all he cared?

Jonouchi felt the lump starting to come back to his throat and the sandwich was suddenly harder to swallow. He put it down on the table instead, staring at it with his head in his hands. He was so lost in thought he didn't even notice his father starting to come to in the other room, or at least not until it was too late.

"Boy! Where've ya been?" his father said; his voice high. Jonouchi's eyes snapped up from the table and met his father's – the blond could instantly see that at least he wasn't drunk anymore.

"I-I was at a friend's this weekend, an' t'day I went ta school."

Jonouchi Sr.'s eyes narrowed but then he looked away, moving over to the fridge instead.

"Where've ya been, reall'? Ya don have 'ny friends… if ya actuall' went ta school ya would've had better grades," his father slurred and raided the fridge for some food, or even better, booze.

Jonouchi cringed behind his father's back. His dad always seemed to find his weakest spots, but at least he wasn't talking about Shizuka and their mother yet, and he definitely didn't know about Kaiba.

"Nah, I know where ya've been, boy. Ye've been at a girl's, right?" Jonouchi froze and his eyes went wide as his father roared with laughter somewhere behind him. "Good fer ya, son!"

The blond received a pat on the back with enough force to make him double over across the table and to make him loose his breath for a moment, but luckily his father didn't notice. Jonouchi Sr. went out in the living-room again to turn on the TV, and left his son in the kitchen.

Only then did Jonouchi have the courage to shakily draw a breath again, reaching up to rub his forehead with one hand while he nervously picked at the remains of his sandwich.

It was like his father knew what he was thinking. At least that was what it felt like, and it scared the living hell out of Jonouchi. He wasn't afraid of his father hurting him physically – bruises and scars and broken bones (even though he hadn't gotten any… yet) would heal eventually, but the pain of not being there when Shizuka grew up would never leave him. He wished he could go stay with her and their mother, but he didn't know where they lived. His mother had filed a restraining order on his father, and even though it didn't apply to Jonouchi she was still afraid of telling him their location – afraid that he might give it to his father, with or against his own will.

He finally gave up trying to eat the sandwich – the lump in the back of his throat made it impossible to swallow – but he put the remains in the fridge. Food wasn't something you could just throw away.

With a final, cautious glance at his father still sitting in the living room, Jonouchi went into his own room and locked the door behind himself. Then he sunk down on the bed with his back against the wall and his knees held up against his body, and the cover draped over him. He finally started crying, and quietly wished that everything that had happened was nothing but a bad dream and that he would wake up any moment.

* * *

**A/N:** Angsty chapters... they'll end soon, promise ^^

I have an announcement to make; my next big story!  
It'll be a Kaiba X Otogi - and before you say you're a hardcore puppyshipping fan, consider this; the last time someone uploaded a Kaiba X Otogi-story was in 2008.  
**2008.**

So at least give it a try? :3


	11. Get in

**A/N:** Sorry for being so irregular with the updates, but this weekend I was at the biggest anime convent in Sweden, Uppcon! It was plain awesome; I went dressed as Judai, and I met a female version of Judai as well, and then there was Kaiba, Theif King, Atem, Mana, Bakura and Marik. Haaa~

* * *

Jonouchi didn't dare to go to school the day that followed. Instead he hung out at the park the entire day, since he had to leave his house because of his father constantly being there. He knew no one he knew would show up at the park and wonder why he wasn't in school, but he was still nervous.

And he was still feeling pretty damn miserable about the whole thing with Kaiba. He just couldn't understand why Kaiba would push him away like that. Things had seemed to be going okay; Jonouchi liked Kaiba and the brunet seemed to like him as well… so what had happened?

The blond sighed and rubbed his forehead, where he was sitting on a bench near a big pond. Sometimes when he just couldn't deal with neither school nor his father he just sat there all day, watching the few people who walked by and the scenery change around him.

He just kept going through the same thoughts over and over without ever coming to some sort of conclusion. He couldn't understand the brunet; they were too different – but that was part of the reason Jonouchi liked Kaiba. He liked not knowing what he was thinking about, not knowing what he wanted to do and not knowing how he thought – and most of all, he liked figuring out all of those things.

Jonouchi wasn't aware of time while he was sitting there and all of a sudden it became time for him to start wandering back home. When he had first gone out there that morning he had thought that the day would move past slowly, but Kaiba was all that was on his mind and he simply couldn't stop thinking about him.

Like normally, his father didn't exactly talk to him once he got back. He only gave him a small sound of acknowledgement, and Jonouchi liked it that way. Much better than if he was mad and yelled or beat him.

Just like the previous day, when Jonouchi went to bed he curled up underneath the covers and cried quietly. He really didn't want his father to notice, but it was hard as he missed Kaiba so much it hurt. He couldn't understand how he could get used to sleeping next to someone like that so fast, but he missed the feeling of another warm body next to his own; he missed the feeling of strong arms around himself; he missed having someone there to protect him.

* * *

The next day Jonouchi actually had the courage to go to school, despite the fear of running into Kaiba. Of course he wasn't sure why he was afraid of seeing him, since he longed back to him at the same time. But he was afraid of what Kaiba might do once they met again.

It felt like forever since he'd been at school, but in reality it wasn't much more than a weekend. It was just that so much had happened during that time – he saw both himself and Kaiba and even the world in a different light now; everything seemed different. He wondered if someone would notice; did he look different in any way? Would Yugi notice something was off, that something had happened…?

And it definitely felt odd to have so many people around him too, and the unusual insecure way Jonouchi looked at everyone made them stare as well – which made him even more nervous. He was on the verge of turning around and going home again when a familiar voice stopped him in the hallway.

"Hey, Jonouchi!"

"Good morning Jou! Where were you yesterday and Monday?"

Jonouchi turned around and hoped his heating cheeks weren't too noticeable. Yugi was walking up to him, with his usual smile and brightness, closely followed by Anzu.

"I, err… I still felt pretty bad. Kinda sick, yanno?"

"Ah, well are you feeling better now?" Yugi looked a bit worried, which made Jonouchi feel even worse.

"Yeah, I s'ppose. What've ya done this weekend, then?" Jonouchi said and forced himself to try to be at least a little social.

"Oh, the usual. I helped granddad at the game shop and this Saturday Anzu and I were supposed to go out together but some kids saw us in the park so I ended up dueling them," he laughed a little but Anzu looked a bit annoyed.

"You know I want a proper date sometime," she said and went ahead of them into the classroom. Yugi laughed again, but a bit more troubled this time, and Jonouchi couldn't help but smile a little too. At least someone was having a relatively healthy relationship.

Going into the classroom, Jonouchi couldn't help but feel a pang of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. There were already a lot of students there, most of them standing around and talking to each other – but there was no sign of Kaiba. Then again, he usually turned up just before the teacher, so he couldn't be sure just yet.

He sat down at his bench, tapping his fingers against the table, and constantly shooting glances at the door. Yugi was busy trying to settle something with Anzu, and Honda was still out of town, so miraculously no one noticed just how anxious he was.

When the teacher finally arrived, Jonouchi could let out a deep breath in relief. Honestly, he didn't know why he was so afraid of facing Kaiba. Maybe he thought Kaiba would deny everything that had happened and that was the end of that.

Just like Jonouchi had predicted, he couldn't concentrate on school for the life of him. There was too much on his mind, as if yesterday hadn't been enough time to figure out everything. It was driving him insane – _nothing _made sense. Normally, the challenge of figuring out what in the world Kaiba was thinking was one of the best things Jonouchi knew, but this was just too much.

Sometimes when he got this mad he had to restrain himself from not going violent. He assumed he got that from his father, and that was the sole reason he didn't want to be like that. He'd never use violence as an answer. Well, there was that one time… when he had attacked Kaiba… and they ended up hugging.

Jonouchi sighed and dropped his head into his hands, but then snapped his head back up just as fast as again when the bell suddenly rung. Had the entire day really gone by already? He could barely even believe it himself, and was a bit slow at getting out of the classroom, which resulted in him walking with Yugi for once. Usually, Jonouchi ran out of the classroom as fast as possible and therefor ditched all his friends, but this time it was different.

"So what are you doing this weekend, Jou?" the little King of Games said with a smile.

"Nothin', I s'ppose… I don't have anythin' planned, anyway," Jonouchi said tiredly and opened his locker, not even trying to stop the avalanche of papers. A few of them landed on the floor around them and Yugi helped him pick them up.

"Jonouchi, you seem really… I-I can't even put my finger on it, but something has to be wrong," Yugi said as he gave the papers back to Jonouchi. The blond couldn't stop a sigh from escaping.

"Look, I know that ya care 'bout me but this…I just think I gotta –"

Jonouchi stopped mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open and his eyes slightly wider than usual. Yugi said something but he couldn't hear his friend anymore.

The reason he stopped talking was because of something he hadn't seen since Kaiba pushed him away – the threads. He could see them clearly, albeit faded, in the reflection of the windows on the opposite side of the corridor. They weren't running between himself and Yugi – whose reflection he could see as well – but from his body and out of the window; he couldn't see where they lead. But that made no sense – two days ago when he had seen his reflection in the shop window he could only see himself and no threads… unless…

Jonouchi turned around, slowly, tentatively – almost as if he was afraid of what he might see – and looked down through the deserted hallway. Or well, _almost _deserted.

And there he was. The reason for his misery, the reason for his insecurity; the reason for all of the things that had happened during the past weeks but at the same time – the reason why he had felt better during that time than he had in years.

Kaiba. Walking down the corridor with his coat-tails swishing around his ankles, head held high and back straight like he owned the place. His cold blue eyes were fixated on something far ahead; it was like he didn't even see Jonouchi and Yugi but the blond knew that he had to know they were there.

As he came closer the threads running between his and Jonouchi's bodies became shorter, but the knots and tangles were still there. Jonouchi held his breath and had to concentrate on stopping his legs from giving in under his weight when Kaiba passed by him – blocking out his view on the window for a second. Then he had passed and the threads started stretching out again. It looked so _painful_; Jonouchi didn't want to do anything other than run after the brunet but found that his own body wouldn't obey him.

"…what he's doing here. I haven't seen him all day."

Yugi's voice started getting through the deafening silence that had lowered itself over Jonouchi when Kaiba walked by, but the words Yugi spoke barely made any sense.

"Hey Jou, are you alright?"

Jonouchi forced himself to take a shaky breath – he hadn't realized until now that he wasn't breathing – and managed to turn his head towards his little friend, who was looking at him rather worriedly. The blond knew his mouth was hanging open and that his body probably was trembling a little, but it took a while for him to do anything about it. He closed his eyes and mouth, leaned backwards and supported most of his weight against the wall, taking several deep breaths.

Kaiba was gone again, and left wasn't only the problems that had been there before, but the problem of telling Yugi why he had reacted the way he had to Kaiba simply being there. Despite Jonouchi's shocked state even he realized that was _not _the way you usually reacted to your mortal enemy simply walking by.

"Jou, what's wrong? Please tell me," Yugi pleaded. "You've been like this for more than a week now and you're… you're oddly quiet and I don't know what's wrong so I can't help you and –… Please just tell me what's wrong."

Jonouchi opened his eyes but stared at the floor in front of him, painfully aware that Yugi was watching him and waiting for an answer. What the hell was he supposed to tell him? 'Oh hey Yugi, I'm totally fine except for the fact that I have a crush the size of Mt. Fuji on my former enemy. Oh and get this, we kissed and even slept in the same bed together! But now he's decided to be a total jerk and push me away without a reason. What have you been up to these past weeks?'

Instead he simply sighed.

"I-I think that…"

"It's Kaiba, isn't it?"

Jonouchi's eyes snapped open. But Yugi wasn't done.

"I noticed how it seemed like he wanted to talk to you before, but you wouldn't let him. He sat next to you in class and tried to talk to you, but you just ignored him. The two of you haven't fought in a really long time, and don't get me wrong, that's great! But… it's not like you."

The blond suddenly found the presence to move and managed to turn his head towards Yugi, who looked at him with an unusually stern look on his face.

"Yugi…"

"I'm right, aren't I?" Yugi suddenly demanded. "Look, I don't know what happened between you two but as it looks right now it's almost as if you two _need _to fight to be able to have some sort of…" he trailed off and swept out with his hand, but then sighed. "I… I know you've never really talked to me about things that happened to you, but I've managed to understand a lot of things anyway, but this… I just don't understand what's wrong, Jonouchi, can't you please just tell me?"

"Y-Yugi, I think…" Jonouchi managed to get out, "I-I think… Even _if _there's somethin' between me an' Kaiba… I… we hafta settle this on our own."

The moment he said it he realized how true it was – he had practically always been self-dependent and he knew Kaiba had as well – if they ever wanted to solve whatever it was that was going on they had to do it on their own. No one could ever fix their problems, no one else could ever understand what was going on – no one else could see the threads.

"Yug', I gotta go," Jonouchi said so suddenly it seemed to surprise Yugi. "I-I really do!"

He started shoving the papers back into his locker so fast all he really did was making it worse.

"But Jou, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, somethin' happened an' I gotta fix it."

Jonouchi slammed the locker shut and paused for a moment to look at his friend. Yugi looked truly confused and a bit worried as well – the blond couldn't blame him. He really had been acting weird these past couple of weeks but now it was time to fix it. Jonouchi grabbed onto his shoulder and met his eyes for a couple of seconds.

"I promise I'll tell ya everythin' once I fixed it, okay?" Jonouchi said and tried to show that he meant it using his eyes. Yugi still looked a bit surprised but nodded slightly. "But right now I gotta go!"

Without waiting for a response from his friend, Jonouchi bolted off and ran through the hallways. He could hear Yugi's tentative good-bye somewhere behind him but didn't stop or reply – he felt as if he didn't have the time. Deep inside he knew he could face Kaiba at his mansion, but somehow that felt scarier – the brunet would be in his home, where he was safe and confident; Jonouchi would be at unknown grounds, and both nervous and frightened.

Not counting two days before, it was a really long time since he had run like that. He got breathless way too fast and his side was starting to hurt by the time he had actually gotten out of the school-building, but he just kept running.

When he came to the parking lot, however, he had to stop. Which way had Kaiba taken? Before he even had a chance of catching his breath he saw a very familiar limousine just driving off and around a corner further up ahead. His eyes widened and his body reacted before his mind even had to tell it to – he started running again, despite his whole body hurting now.

He hoped Kaiba would take the route he thought he would, and took a short-cut through an alley filled with garbage. The stench filled his nose but he didn't think about it; his eyes fixated on a spot somewhere far up ahead. To be able to get out from there he had to press his way through some bushes as well, and the branches hit against his bare skin and tore his clothes apart, but he didn't care about that either.

Once he had gotten out through the bushes he was on a street; there hadn't even been a sidewalk. Jonouchi could suddenly hear the sound of screeching brakes, and his head whipped up just in time for him to see a big black limo heading his way. He closed his eyes tight and raised his arms as if to protect himself, knowing that it wouldn't do any good, and braced himself for the impact that never came.

He opened his eyes.

The limousine had stopped only inches away from his body; the engine clinked as it cooled down and the driver behind the wheel staring at him with his jaws shut tight and his brow furrowed. However, for whatever reason, he didn't say anything and didn't even get out of the car. He simply sat there, staring at Jonouchi.

The blond gulped in nervousness and both relaxed his body and started breathing again – he hadn't even noticed he stopped when he thought he would be hit. It took a moment, but then he finally moved away from his spot and slowly started walking around the car. He was painfully aware that the driver was still glaring at him, but tried not to care. He didn't really succeed, though.

Jonouchi stopped in front of the passenger door, unsure if he should open it or knock or if this even was Kaiba's limousine. Before he could make a decision, the door swung open and nearly hit him, making him take a surprised step backwards.

From the inside of the limousine Jonouchi heard a voice, so void of emotions it sent shivers down his spine.

"Get in, mutt."


	12. A single tear

**A/N:** This is it, guys. (Sorry for taking such a goddamn long time again XD)

* * *

_What did you do?"_

"_What do you mean, I pushed him away and –"_

"_No, I meant; what did you do_before_then?"_

"_I… I stopped calling him 'mutt'."_

"_Yes, good, and more?"_

"_I… took him away from his father. I helped him."_

"_And then?"_

"_I let him stay here when he didn't have anywhere else to go. I… I comforted him."_

"_Well, there you go."_

"_Is that it?"_

"_It never occurred to you that you really don't have to do a lot to become liked, did it?"_

* * *

Jonouchi was staring at his hands, Kaiba sitting nothing but a few inches away from him. The brunet was sitting leaned backwards, his arms and legs crossed – the blond was leaning forward; his hands clasped and his head hanging low.

He really had been confident about what to say to Kaiba. Or at least about what he wanted to know. He wanted to know why the hell he would push him away like that; after all they had been through, all that had changed during the past few weeks. It still didn't make sense to him – but when he actually faced Kaiba he found himself incapable of speaking as he gazed into the other's seemingly emotionless eyes. He had only dared to meet his eyes for a few seconds too, then he had to look away. He couldn't stand seeing Kaiba's blue eyes so cold and harsh after seeing them filled with so much emotion.

He simply couldn't go back to the way things had been.

The limousine was moving quickly through the city – Jonouchi didn't know where they were going but he damn sure knew it wasn't to Kaiba's or even his own place. He vaguely recognized the passing scenery and knew they had to be somewhere in the outskirts of the town. Of course he was both curious and nervous about where they were going, but he was too afraid to actually ask Kaiba.

The brunet hadn't said a word since he opened the door for Jonouchi; he hadn't even told the driver where to go, which Jonouchi didn't get at all until he noticed a small panel with buttons on the door closest to Kaiba – he must've sent a message to the driver.

They eventually left town and Jonouchi got more and more nervous by the minute; Kaiba still wouldn't show a single emotion. Then the blond suddenly recognized where they were and felt a small pang of…_something _in his stomach. He honestly didn't know if he should feel relieved or even more nervous – they were heading towards a viewpoint located on a small hill with an overview over the city.

The car stopped; Kaiba got out without saying a word. It took Jonouchi a moment to follow; his heart was beating so fast by now he was sure Kaiba and maybe even the driver must've heard it. He took several deep but shaky breaths before he managed to get out.

It was actually a very beautiful place – the sun was setting over the ocean which you could see past the city and the docks. The city itself seemed to be glimmering in the light; the sun's reflection shone in every window and made the whole town look magic. In a way it was magic, judging by everything that had happened there during the past few years.

Kaiba was standing with his back against Jonouchi and his arms crossed, but he didn't get a chance to think more about it until the driver rolled down a window.

"Sir?" was all he said from inside the car.

"Park nearby. I'll send you a message when you can pick me up again."

Jonouchi's stomach twisted in nervousness as Kaiba said 'me' and not 'us'. Was he really going to leave the blond up there, far away from home?

"Heh… yer not gonna have me killed, right?" Jonouchi said and couldn't help but fiddle with his own hands. The limousine drove off again and Kaiba didn't move a muscle. The blond waited patiently for him to say something, and gulped after a few moments of silence. Just as he opened his mouth to say something else Kaiba finally spoke up.

"I thought I said it would be best if we didn't see each other for a while."

Jonouchi gulped again before he found his voice.

"Ya never said that… ya only said… I should leave…" the blond trailed off, not sure what to say but then suddenly gained confidence from an unknown source. He took a step forward and raised his head a little, and even though Kaiba couldn't see him he was sure the brunet heard the difference. "But we haven't seen each other for a while. An'… an' I've been feelin' like crap the whole time."

Kaiba turned his head ever so slightly, as if to be able to hear Jonouchi better. The blond gained even more confidence from this – Kaiba was actually _listening _to him.

"I just couldn't fuckin' understand why ye'd do that. I… I honestly thought you liked me and… fuck, I dunno. I dunno why I thought I could trust you or – or _like _you or even… or even…" he trailed off for a moment, his eyes wandering from Kaiba's back down to the ground. "I don't understand ya. And ya said ya don't understand me either. Ya wanna know somethin'? I like it that way. I like… figurin' out whatcha thinkin' about. I like not knowin' what yer gonna do, not knowin' what ideas ya have… an' I like figuring that out."

Jonouchi couldn't help it; while he was speaking he started smiling. It was only a small, cautious smile but it was filled with the few truly happy memories he had with Kaiba – waking up next to him, being held by him, the kiss…

Then Kaiba suddenly turned around and Jonouchi's smile disappeared again as he saw the completely blank face the brunet had on. But the blond only looked away for a few couple of seconds before bravely meeting Kaiba's eyes again, and then he slowly started walking up to him.

"An' ya wanna know somethin' else?" he said and stopped right in front of Kaiba – the taller man's face nothing but inches away from his own. "Even if ya push me away again… even if ya reject me an' say ye never wanna see me again… I'm gonna come back. I'll never leave ya." He took a deep breath but then continued, carefully looking into Kaiba's eyes in search of something, _anything_, and just maybe he did see a tiny spark in there somewhere. "An' ya wanna know why that is?"

A bit hesitantly, but still before he managed to fully think through what he was about to do, Jonouchi grabbed onto the collar of Kaiba's coat and part pulled him down, part pulled himself up. He could see the brunet's eyes widen just a fraction. Jonouchi had to admit he was extremely tempted to simply kiss Kaiba, but he doubted he would take that very well. Instead his mouth passed by the brunet's and settled somewhere near his ear.

Jonouchi drew a shaky breath.

"I love you."

After a moment Kaiba slowly and carefully pulled away – to be able to look the blond into his eyes, Jonouchi guessed. His blue eyes were a torrent of emotions; the most prominent one being fright, but there was confusion and curiousness and maybe even desire. Yes, there was definitely desire, Jonouchi realized as he looked closer and he would've sighed in relief if Kaiba hadn't blinked just then, most of the emotion disappearing.

"Why?" was the only thing he said.

"Why?" Jonouchi repeated, his grip on Kaiba's coat loosening a little. "Why, why I'm in love with ya?" he asked incredulously, and couldn't help but laugh lightly at the seemingly random question, and the fact that this was definitely _not _the response he had been expecting.

Kaiba however, was just as serious as before.

"Yes, why. Why in the world would you like me? I don't understand you, and I _don't _like it that way. If I were you I _wouldn't _like me – I'm nothing but a ruthless, coldhearted bastard." He paused for a moment. "With a huge company and enough money to support both myself and someone else my entire life."

Jonouchi immediately caught on, and quickly let go of Kaiba's coat while taking a step backwards. He gasped and his eyes widened in shock.

"You –! How… how could ya even…! I mean, how could ya even think I'm some sort of…!" he was gasping, struggling to get the words out and the whole time Kaiba was watching him with the same neutral face, even though his jaws were shut tighter than normal. "I dun even know why ye'd…!"

But then he stopped himself as he suddenly realized something – he _did _know why Kaiba didn't trust him. Kaiba had never had a reason to trust anyone, and definitely not Jonouchi, he previous enemy. Kaiba didn't know the unconditional trust that came with love – he didn't know what it was like not being constantly paranoid and careful around everyone, because you couldn't know who to trust.

Jonouchi lowered his arms – which he had raised in pure anger – and took a deep breath.

"It's okay, Kaiba, I get it. Yer not used to people actually _liking _ya… which is kinda sad. An'… an' I understand if ya don't believe me… but at least hear me out, okay?" He didn't get a response from the brunet, but he took that as a relatively positive sign. Jonouchi raised his head and met Kaiba's eyes – he refused to look away, even when it became hard for him to speak.

"I love ya because ya cared fer me, and ya took care of me in ways no one ever have before, not even ma friends… This is bigger than friends, ya realize that, right? Ya held me and – and tried ta help me even though I wouldn't let ya… I've been so ungrateful… an' I'm so sorry fer that. No one… has ever let me as close to them… as ya have." He paused for a moment to be able to swallow down the lump that was forming in the back of his throat. "I really do love ya."

Several moments passed by under complete silence – to Jonouchi it felt like an eternity, but he didn't look away – and then Kaiba did the most amazing thing. He closed his eyes, broke the eye contact, just to be able to reach up and dry his eyes.

"Kaiba…!" Jonouchi breathed and took a step forward, practically falling into the brunet's open arms. Kaiba took him in, held him tight and pressed the blond's body against his own. Jonouchi buried his face into Kaiba's shoulder and drew in his scent – whether it was cologne or simply _Kaiba_, he didn't know, but he loved it. Both of them pulled the other closer to the point where it almost hurt, but neither of them cared, simply happy about being in each other's arms once again.

"What?" Kaiba said softly, although his voice was a bit thick. "You've cried several times during this whole… _thing_, so why can't I?"

"I never said ya weren't allowed ta cry," Jonouchi murmured into Kaiba's chest, and he could feel Kaiba's lips brush over his hair. The blond shifted just a bit and pulled back just enough to be able to meet Kaiba's eyes. The brunet's expression looked softer than Jonouchi had ever seen it before; his blue eyes weren't cold anymore, they were like the sky, like the ocean, like _summer_.

Kaiba reached up and gently brushed the tips of his fingers over Jonouchi's cheek, drawing a small smile from the blond.

"I love you," Kaiba whispered and Jonouchi closed his eyes as they begun to fill up with tears and his smile grew wider. He leaned forward and turned his head up slightly, waiting for the kiss, but it never came. Jonouchi blinked and opened his eyes fully, his smile quickly fading. Kaiba was looking at him with sadness in his eyes, but it was different from before. "How could you ever trust me? After all I've done, how can you simply go back to trusting me again?"

Jonouchi stared at him for a moment, then closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again he smiled.

"Silly Kaib'," he said with a small but mischievous smile, "dontcha know that wit' love comes unconditional trust?" He stretched his neck a little, got up on the tip of his toes; he turned his head slightly and his eyelids fell shut. "An' one more thing… I never… _stopped_… trustin' ya."

Their lips met. Jonouchi could hear the smallest of whimpers escape from Kaiba, but it was enough to send a jolt straight to the blond's stomach. The brunet tightened his hold on Jonouchi and the blond unconsciously did the same. It felt like heaven – he was back in Kaiba's arms and that kiss felt as if he had been thirsty for an eternity and this was his first taste of water. He couldn't understand how he could live without this for nothing but a couple of days, how could Kaiba expect him to live without this for the rest of his _life _if the brunet had pushed him away again?

Jonouchi turned his head more and parted his lips, which Kaiba didn't hesitate in taking advantage of, plundering the blond's mouth with his tongue and drawing a soft moan from him. The kiss remained slow and deep, and even though Jonouchi sensed that Kaiba would've liked it to become more heated, he kept calm – he probably knew this was what the blond wanted and needed at the moment.

For quite a while, Jonouchi couldn't do anything but feel – feel the hand on his back pressing him closer to a warm body, feel the other hand nestled in his hair and tugging slightly at it. He took in the scent, the taste, the feel, that was purely Kaiba – and enjoyed every single moment of it.

When they finally parted he was slightly dazed and lightheaded, and couldn't help but smile like a complete idiot. He really hadn't felt this happy since their very first kiss, even though that wasn't too long ago. Kaiba was smiling as well, not as much as Jonouchi, but still more than he ever had before.

"With yer arms around me… I feel safe. Like ye'll always protect me."

"I will," Kaiba whispered back and placed a soft kiss on Jonouchi's forehead, surprising the blond with his tenderness. The blond suddenly chuckled and Kaiba frowned a little in confusion.

"Yanno, all of this was 'cause of yer paranoia… ya didn't trust the reason I like ya," Jonouchi paused for a moment, "but didya ever stop ta think 'bout why _you _like _me_?"

Jonouchi watched as Kaiba's eyes widened and his mouth slowly opened.

"I-I… I –" the brunet started stuttering, "I… I-I…" his blue eyes went back and forth in examination of Jonouchi's slightly worried face, and even though the blond wasn't sure he thought he felt Kaiba's whole body trembling slightly. He gulped and his breathing immediately seemed to become faster.

"Look, Kaiba…" Jonouchi quickly reached up and caught Kaiba's cheeks, forcing him to calm down and meet his eyes. "Look at me."

Jonouchi didn't say anything else – he didn't need to. Kaiba's expression relaxed and he looked into the blond's eyes for just nothing but a few seconds before blurting out:

"I love you because you changed me." Smiling, Jonouchi let go of Kaiba's cheeks and put his arms around his neck instead, letting him continue. "I love you because you brought out something in me, something I didn't know I had. I love you for showing me how amazing it is to really truly care about someone."

With a contented sigh, Jonouchi leaned against Kaiba's shoulder and closed his eyes. Kaiba was rubbing soothing circles on his back and he secretly wished they could stay like this forever. But the sun was setting and he could feel the air getting colder around them even though warm rays of sunshine were still hitting them.

"We are no longer foes for life," Kaiba murmured.

"Wha- oh," Jonouchi said, confused at first but then he remembered; the quote from the poet. "Heh, I kinda feel like findin' out what our reflection looks like now."

"I think that could wait," Kaiba said but then gently pushed Jonouchi away from himself once again. Their eyes met – the brunet was looking serious again. "Jonouchi, will you come and live at my place?"

Jonouchi couldn't do anything but stare for a moment, amazed by the sincerity in Kaiba's eyes. He was very tempted to say yes; he was _extremely _tempted to simply say yes. But he knew there would be complications along the way; his father, his friends, and Mokuba as well… even though he had a feeling Mokuba really wouldn't mind it. Still, the feeling of the possibility of being able to wake up next to Kaiba every single morning…

"Yes," Jonouchi replied quietly but then gained confidence. "Yes, yes of course I will, Kaiba!"

Kaiba tugged him into another kiss, this one more demanding and needing. He caught Jonouchi's lower lip with his teeth and bit and sucked at it until the blond was trembling in pleasure and whimpering for more. Jonouchi couldn't do anything but try and keep himself on his feet, since his legs felt like jelly and his stomach had soared away in pure bliss.

"One more thing…" Kaiba said breathlessly, breaking away for nothing but a few seconds. "Call me 'Seto'."

"Set-ohh…" Kaiba's name disappeared into a soft moan as the brunet bent down and kissed Jonouchi's bare neck, moving his lips over his soft skin and nibbling just a little. But then Jonouchi couldn't help but snicker, since he was ticklish at that precise spot. He could feel Kaiba smirk against his skin and kiss him again, just under his ear.

"Come on," Kaiba said and broke away, to Jonouchi's mixed disappointment and relief, "Let's go home."

The brunet loosened his grip on Jonouchi's waist but as he moved away he caught the blond's hand instead. Jonouchi's gently squeezed the other's hand and felt the brunet do the same, and smiled cautiously yet again. Kaiba tugged slightly at him and started leading him to where the limousine was parked.

It felt almost too good to be true. In a way it was; Jonouchi knew they would probably fight and not get along at all sooner or later, but he knew – or at least hoped – that in the end they would still stick by each other. Maybe forever.

"What are you thinking about, Jonouchi?"

"Hm? Oh. Nothin' big."

* * *

**A/N:** Wow. This has been, like... a JOURNEY to say the least. I think I started writing this story in February, though I had the idea for a much longer time. I want to thank Katlynn888, my beta, for doing such an amazing job despite all the shit she's been through, Hachiseiko for not completely murdering me when I wrote all those cliffhangers, and all of YOU of course. All my readers, all my reviewers... I love you all!

My next story will be **Emerald Roses**, with Kaiba and Otogi (Mastershipping... why is it called Mastershipping?) and I'm asking you to give it a chance ^^  
However, I'll be gone for a very long time now, more than a month. Yes, I will come back, yes I will continue writing, don't worry. It's just that it might take some time before the first chapter of **Emerald Roses** is up.

Until then, thank you everyone! ^^


	13. Puppy

**A/N:** Surprise! Bonus chapter ^w^  
There were a few more things I wanted in this story but they honestly didn't fit in anywhere before the two of them got together... so here it is ;)

* * *

"Yes, I will pay all of his expenses. No matter how big they are… And I want him to be treated with the outmost care. If anything happens to him your company will be held responsible and I will most likely sue you… Yes. Thank you."

Kaiba, who was sitting by his desk, hung up the phone and looked around room in search of his boyfriend. That word still seemed so odd, and Kaiba preferred not to use it, but he did find the blond standing over by the door. He was leaning against the door-frame and looking pretty gloomy.

"They will pick him up soon and take him to the rehab center located just out of town," Kaiba informed him. Jonouchi didn't even look his way, his arms crossed and his eyes hidden underneath golden locks of hair. "Come here," the brunet said and stretched out his arms towards Jonouchi. He hesitated for a moment, but then walked up to Kaiba and put his arms around his neck. The brunet gently pulled him down and onto his lap, letting him rest his head against his shoulder; he still wouldn't say a word. "What's wrong?"

"… It still feels like I'm abandonin' him," Jonouchi murmured.

"You're not. You're doing what's best for him, trust me. You can't keep taking care of him yourself; you're not old enough or experienced enough to do that, and you have your own problems."

"You mean like, you? You're a problem?"

Kaiba snorted. "I meant like, school. That's the next thing we're going to fix."

Jonouchi groaned and Kaiba couldn't help but chuckle. He liked helping the blond, and he liked seeing how Jonouchi's mood got just a little bit better for each thing he did; he liked that little smile that told him he'd done something right. The brunet smirked a little and leaned forward to kiss him, but Jonouchi cringed away from him.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba repeated, more worried this time. Jonouchi had never denied him before.

"There's one more thing…" Jonouchi said and wouldn't meet Kaiba's eyes when the brunet tried to look him in the face. The blond was fiddling with his hands. "I'm not… I-I'm not… gay." The final word was nothing but a whisper, yet Kaiba heard it clearly.

Oh. So the blond was still worried about that. Kaiba couldn't blame him though; growing up with an intolerant father like his had to leave its marks and it wasn't something you could easily shrug off. Besides, what teenage boy would willingly admit to being homosexual? But still, Kaiba knew what Jonouchi felt for him and all he could do was comfort him.

"Jonouchi, listen to me," the brunet said softly and reached up, putting a hand underneath the blond's chin and lifting it up so their eyes met. Kaiba wore a soft look just for him and gently moved his thumb over Jonouchi's near perfect skin; there was only one small scar ruining it. "You're not homosexual. I don't suppose you've seen a movie called 'Brokeback Mountain'?" He received a wordless head-shake as an answer. "It's about two men who fall in love, but they're not homosexual. Both of them later get married to women and one of them even have children. And yet they love each other." Jonouchi opened his mouth to say something, but Kaiba was faster. "You're still attracted to women, are you not?"

The blond bit his lip and looked away, but he did blush just a bit. Kaiba smiled a little.

"I won't mind if you are."

"… Yeah," Jonouchi finally confessed.

"And you're not attracted to any other men?" Jonouchi shook his head again. Kaiba's smile turned into a smug smirk, even though he tried to hide it. "There you go. You're not homosexual. And yet…"

"… and yet there's somethin' 'bout ya that makes me want ya," Jonouchi finished and smiled ever so slightly. He seemed to hesitate at first, but then turned his head a little and placed a kiss at the corner of Kaiba's mouth. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Kaiba replied and returned the kiss before tightening his hold on the blond and resting his cheek against Jonouchi's. He let out a contented sigh, but was soon interrupted in his more or less perfect state of harmony by Jonouchi, who cleared his throat.

"Um, we still have one more thing ta do."

* * *

Kaiba watched in mild amusement as Yugi Motou's eyes went back and forth between the brunet himself and Jonouchi, who was standing next to him.

"Um, tadaa?" Jonouchi said with a shaky voice and swept out with his hands a little. Kaiba's smirk grew wider and he crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the blond to see what he was going to do next. He was ready to step in and help him at any moment, but he had promised Jonouchi that he could try and handle it on his own at first.

They were at school, and it was after the final class when most of the students had gone home. Kaiba and Jonouchi had pretty much avoided each other all day, but the brunet couldn't resist dragging the blond into the bathroom during lunch just to be able to kiss him. But now Jonouchi had gathered his entire little gang of friends, and they were all more or less staring at the unlikely couple.

"Wait… you and Kaiba –"

"You're a couple?" Honda asked incredulously. "Since when?"

"Since, I dunno… a couple of weeks ago?"

"And you didn't tell me?" Yugi said and sounded positively hurt, while Honda in the background looked ever madder.

"But Yug'… I told ya I was gon' tell you everythin' once I fixed it, remember?" Jonouchi said and took a step forward, obviously trying to settle Yugi's worried mind. "An' I fixed it now!"

"But I thought you said –"

"When did this even start? How did it begin?" Anzu asked; she hadn't even been able to find her voice until now.

"Well, that's… it-it was…"

Jonouchi turned half-way around and met Kaiba's eyes. The brunet gave him a small but reassuring smile and got a much brighter one in return. He turned back to his friends with obvious new enthusiasm.

"Remember when we were at the amusement park a couple of weeks ago?" Jonouchi asked and got small nods from his friends. "Well, I thought I saw S- Kaiba," he corrected himself and the brunet couldn't help but blink – but then he understood. Jonouchi still had to think the first name was too private to use in public, "so I like, had to follow him 'cause I wanted to know what the hell he was doin' there. So I went into that creepy ol' Mirror House, yanno the one, an' when we saw each other we… we…"

The blond trailed off and his body relaxed a bit. Kaiba watched him with a wrinkle between his eyebrows; what was he doing? Wasn't he going to tell the whole story? Did he need help?

Just as Kaiba got ready for stepping in and helping him, Jonouchi turned around once again and met Kaiba's eyes, but he looked a lot more serious this time.

"Actually…" he said without breaking eye-contact. "I don't really know what happened. We just sorta started talkin'… an' I figured he wasn't that bad… an' then he helped me with my dad, and… and let me stay at his place when I couldn't go back home."

Kaiba's eyes were just a little wider than normally – the blond was _lying_. Deliberately lying in front of his friends. But when he realized why a wave of affection hit him and made him smile warmly without thinking about Jonouchi's friends standing behind him at all.

Jonouchi wanted the bond to be theirs and theirs alone. No one else knew about it; no one else needed to know, not even the blond's friends or Mokuba for that matter. It was their own little secret.

"Yeah, I guess that's it," Jonouchi said and stretched out his hand, which Kaiba took without a doubt. The rest of the people simply stared.

"K-Kaiba?" Yugi finally said, turning to the brunet for some kind of confirmation.

"Yes? He's telling the truth, what more do you want?"

"I-I…" Yugi hesitated, visibly softening when he met Kaiba's cold but sincere eyes. "If it's really true then I'm happy for you guys." He smiled cautiously.

"I can't be true!" Honda practically shouted. "They've always been enemies, they can't just turn around and… and…!"

"Hond', come on…"

Kaiba finally decided to step in, taking a step forward and squeezing Jonouchi's hand for a moment. He turned towards the blond.

"Jonouchi, this is what makes you happy, isn't it?" he asked, completely serious, and Jonouchi was as well.

"Yes," the blond answered and seemed honest.

"Then isn't that enough?" Kaiba asked, turned to Yugi and Anzu but mostly Honda. "If this is what's making him happy, then isn't that all there is to it?"

"I guess…" Honda admitted and looked rather defeated.

"At least this way you won't fight with each other anymore," Yugi said with a relieved sigh. Kaiba and Jonouchi exchanged looks, and then the blond snorted while the brunet smirked.

"Are ya kiddin'? We'll probably fight even more now!" Jonouchi grinned.

"We'll fight all the time," Kaiba agreed, and smiled at Yugi's confused expression. "We can never agree on anything, and we have different opinions on everything. We never want to do the same things. And we never know what the other is thinking about."

"But…" Yugi started, but was interrupted by Jonouchi.

"We should prob' go now. I'm stayin' at his place," he said and Kaiba couldn't quite decide if he sounded smug or not. Yugi still looked confused while Honda looked like her was getting angrier again. "Come on," the blond said and tugged at Kaiba's hand.

The brunet willingly followed Jonouchi through the corridors and out of the school building. It was late afternoon; the sun was setting and there was nearly no one nearby. Jonouchi slowly stopped and turned around to face Kaiba, who looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows. What the blond had done really _did_ surprise him – first of all he didn't think Jonouchi could lie to his friends (even though it hadn't been _that_ big of a lie) and secondly he had acted a lot more confident than Kaiba thought he would.

"Yanno what's the best part 'bout fightin'?" Jonouchi asked with a small smirk. Kaiba shook his head, even though he could guess the answer. "Makin' up again."

The blond's eyes were glimmering with mischief, and Kaiba couldn't help but smirk as he leaned closer and caught his lips in a slow but deep kiss. One of his hands – the one Jonouchi wasn't holding on to – automatically came up and cupped the other's cheek.

"Mmmsorrry I called ya 'Kaiba'," Jonouchi mumbled and half-broke away, still staying nothing but a hair's breadth away from Kaiba's lips, and his eyes weren't fully open.

"That's alright, Jonouchi. I understand," Kaiba answered and was completely honest; he really did understand why the blond had done it. "We really should be getting home, though."

"Yeah."

They started walking again; Kaiba's limousine was parked on the other side of the parking lot. He knew Jonouchi didn't like taking it, and that the blond would probably make Kaiba _walk_ to and from school eventually, but not yet.

Then the blond suddenly stopped. He turned towards Kaiba again; his eyes dead serious and his expression almost blank, and the brunet felt a small pang of nervousness in the pit of his stomach.

"Call me 'puppy'."

"… What?"

"Ya heard me, call me 'puppy'. Please," he added, once he realized something was missing.

"You want me to –" Kaiba begun but interrupted himself, and stared at the blond. "You want me to call you by the name that started our whole fight? The name I promised never to call you again?"

"Y-yeah," Jonouchi said and didn't meet Kaiba's eyes, but squeezed his hand tighter for a few seconds. "I… I kinda miss it." Kaiba stared incredulously at the heated blush spreading across the blond's cheeks. However, the brunet decided to take it as a sign Jonouchi was telling the truth.

"You… you just –" But then Kaiba closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again he was smiling. "Puppy. My puppy." He reached up and brushed his fingers over Jonouchi's cheek, drawing a bright smile from the blond. "You're my little puppy. Puppy."

Kaiba repeated the word over and over, but was eventually stopped by Jonouchi, who leaned forward and crashed their lips together, unable to contain his happiness any longer. Kaiba only smiled and returned the kiss without any doubt – he'd never felt more right in his entire life.

**The End**


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